The first three major WTM worldwide events to take place so far in year 2018 have each attracted an even bigger slice of the globe’s travel representatives, posting record attendance figures and marking major milestones on the exhibition floor.
The 25th Arabian Travel Market (ATM), held in Dubai in April, hosted 39,000 travel, hospitality and tourism professionals from across the world. The four-day event closed on 25 April 2018 with a 7% increase in international visitors and an impressive 11% increase in visitors from the African continent.
This is the second year in succession that the number of ATM attendees has reached the 39,000 mark – and visitor figures have increased 40% since 2013.ATM 2018 also showcased the largest exhibition of local, regional and global hotel brands in event history.
Over 400 main stand holders from more than 140 countries exhibited at ATM, with over 100 new exhibitors making their debut.
Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said: “The continued growth of ATM is testament to the robust strength of the travel and tourism industry in the Middle East. ATM provides an ideal platform to discuss the potential of the inbound and outbound markets of the Middle East.”
Over in Cape Town, host city of WTM Africa 2018, pre-audited statistics for the event, which took place from April 18-20, show an 18% year-on-year increase in visitor numbers.
More than 600 companies exhibited, while hosted buyers represented a cross-section of over 50 different countries. A total of 37 African countries were represented at WTM Africa, while media attendance was up 8%.
In addition to an increase in buyers from Africa in particular, 2018 also saw buyers from new markets including Mexico, Greece, Romania, Spain, Argentina, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Rwanda, Algeria and Ivory Coast.
Finally, WTM Latin America 2018, the leading B2B travel event in the region, welcomed 12,000 visits – a year-on-year increase of 7%.
The sixth edition of WTM Latin America, which took place between 3-5 April, in São Paulo, facilitated 12,000 business meetings, with 42 travel operators represented on the show floor.
