Organisers say ATM 2022 was one of the most successful ones ever with over 23,000 visitors (Photo: Varsha Singh)
The Gulf island nation of Bahrain is keen to tap into the booming Indian MICE and destination weddings market. Bahrain Tourism officials say that having already successfully organised quite a few destination weddings from India, the country is ready to welcome many more destination weddings.
“We have excellent locations and facilities plus the experience of dealing with the requirements of Indian weddings, hence we can welcome many more destination weddings now that the global travel has resumed,” Maryam Toorani, Marketing Difrector of Bahrain Tourism tells India Outbound.
“Being an island, one can imagine how many locations we offer for the weddings,” Toorani adds. Besides destination weddings, Toorani says that Bahrain Tourism is also eyeing MICE travel business from India and also get the leisure and family travellers to visit the country. Toorani adds that Bahrain has signed up VFS Global as its representation in India and that a 360 degree campaign with FAM trips, promotional and marketing campaigns as well as digital campaigns would shortly be launched in India.
It is not just Bahrain or even the destinations, many hoteliers are also keen on the Indian market and have made the necessary preparations to attract the MICE, destination weddings as well as leisure. The Millennium Hotel Group is also keen on receiving the highest number of Indian guests possible. Vice President Stephens Kamat says that India was the largest nationality, with about 15 pc of number of total guests at one of key Millennium hotels in Dubai.
Meanwhile, as ATM 2022 came to an end on Thursday, the organisers claim that it may have been one of the most successful ones ever with over 23,000 visitors attended the 29th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai. “In addition to doubling our visitor numbers year on year, ATM 2022 hosted 1,500 exhibitors and attendees from 150 countries,” says Danielle Curtis, Exhibition
“These figures are especially impressive given that lockdowns are still taking place in China and other destinations. What’s more, the development of the travel and tourism sector throughout the Middle East region shows no signs of abating, with GCC hotel construction contract awards set to rise by 16 pc this year alone,” she adds.
As part of the conference agenda for the fourth and final day of ATM 2022, representatives from Atlas, Wego Middle East and Alibaba Cloud MEA took to the ATM. Travel Tech Stage to explore how data is changing airline retailing. Panellists shared insights into how to build data-led organisations, and why companies that successfully harness travel data today will be most likely to succeed in them.
The morning sessions included a session hosted by WTM Responsible Tourism, on the ATM Global Stage, focusing on how the latest innovations can be used to promote responsible technology for travel and tourism. Concluding this year’s edition of ATM, afternoon sessions included a discussion about the return and rise of city tourism.
The final day of the live event also included the announcement of ATM 2022’s ‘Best Stand Design’ and ‘People’s Choice Award’, which were presented to SAUDIA for its futuristic and striking concept. Other stands awarded for their creativity included the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Jumeirah International, Ishraq International and TBS/Vbooking.
“ATM 2022 has provided a timely opportunity for the global travel and tourism sector to gather in Dubai and explore the future of our industry. Innovation, sustainability, technology and talent acquisition and retention will be crucial to its long-term success,” concluded Curtis.
Following the success of the hybrid approach adopted for last year’s edition, the live, in-person component of ATM 2022 will be followed by the third instalment of ATM Virtual, which will take place on May 17-18.
