More UK Exhibitors to Visit Arabian Travel Market

The number of UK visitors attending the Arabian Travel Market increased in 2017 and organizers are expecting this to rise further at this year’s show, which will be held at Dubai World Trade Center on April 22-25.

Simon Press, senior exhibition director at ATM, said the popularity of destination UK with (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council travelers is reflected by the increasing numbers of UK travel professionals attending ATM, Ttgmedia reported.

“Industry professionals from the UK visiting ATM were up 10% in 2017 compared to the previous year and we expect this number to keep rising,” he added.

Arrivals to the UK from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait rose up by 6.6% to 659,466 in 2016, as visitors from these countries took advantage of the drop in the pound’s value since the Brexit referendum.

The Persian Gulf Arab states constitute a lucrative inbound market for the UK with average spending higher than tourists from other parts of the world, particularly among Saudi Arabian visitors.

Press said outbound travelers from the Persian Gulf Arab states to the UK continue to take advantage of the dollar to sterling exchange rate, because their currencies are pegged to the US dollar.

London was the most popular UK destination with the Arab visitors clocking up 3.5 million room nights, not far below the total for the rest of England (3.9 million room nights). Total room nights in Scotland were 321,000, followed by Wales (215,000) and Northern Ireland (12,500).

UKinbound’s chief executive, Deirdre Wells, said outbound travel from the Persian Gulf Arab states alone is expected to grow by over 80% in the next 10 years.

“As the UK prepares to leave the EU, managing the UK stand at the show is part of our new Global Britain strategy to broaden our international market appeal,” she said.