GCC tourism strategies must encompass sustainability, social impact, and community engagement, say experts at ATM 2025
National strategies across the UAE, Saudi Arabia an d wider Gulf region aim to balance rapid growth with inclusive, community-focused tourism
Job creation, cultural authenticity, and local partnerships identified as growth enablers
ATM 2025's Global Stage provides a platform for strategic d ialogue on sustainable destination planning
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: As tourism destinations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) continue to grow, involving local communities in destination development has become increasingly vital for long-term success.
Abu Dhabi's Tourism Strategy 2030 aims for 39.3 million visitors per year, while Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 targets 150 million domestic and international visits, emphasising how tourism is being established as a key element of economic diversification throughout the region.
At Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, industry leaders emphasised that sustainable revitalisation of destinations must align tourism investments with community partnerships, cultural authenticity, and immersive guest experiences to provide lasting value for both residents and visitors.
During the session on 'Considerations and Implications of Involving Communities in Destination Revitalisation' on the ATM 2025 Global Stage, experts shared insights into building resilience, enhancing local prosperity, and ensuring tourism growth is both inclusive and enduring.
Abdulaziz Alkhoori, Executive Director of Group Strategy & Transformation, Miral, said: 'If I start by quoting Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE. He said the most important asset of any advanced nation is people. It is all about people. Emiratisation is a very important initiative for the Miral Group. Our development and training programmes aim to support people from pre-graduation all the way to executive leadership across the sector."
Building on this focus on empowering local talent, speakers also highlighted how authentic engagement with communities is shaping guest experiences and strengthening destination identity.
Mashhoor Baeshen, Executive Director of Commercial and Business Development, Cruise Saudi, added: "Manpower is part of giving the full experience of a country. So how do we invest in local people to make sure that we echo their experience to the guests? At Cruise Saudi, we work on different initiatives including going to the universities that have hospitality programmes to engage the students to be on board. The Ministry of Tourism also has targets for Saudisation in the tourism industry. For example, tour guides have to be Saudi. For us, this is a great experience, because the first flavour you get from a country is when you deal with its people."
The session highlighted how empowering local communities improves the guest experience and creates long-term value through job creation, cultural preservation, and economic resilience.
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, commented: "ATM is proud to offer a platform where global and regional leaders can engage in meaningful discussions that shape the future of travel and tourism. Through sessions like this, we bring together a variety of voices to share ideas, challenge assumptions, and develop innovative strategies that benefit the entire industry."
Arabian Travel Market 2025, held under the theme 'Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow's Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity', continues at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) until Thursday, 1 May. The event features more than 200 speakers across three content stages and welcomes over 55,000 travel professionals from 166 countries.
Held in conjunction with DWTC, ATM's strategic partners include Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Destination Partner; Emirates, Official Airline Partner; IHG Hotels & Resorts, Official Hotel Partner; and Al Rais Travel, Official DMC Partner.
Now in its 32nd year, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. Held annually at the Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM 2024 spanned 12 halls, making it the largest edition to date. The event attracted over 47,000 attendees, more than 35,000 visitors (including 6,000+ high-value buyers) and over 2,550 exhibitors and representatives from over 161 countries. In 2025, ATM will expand to 13 halls, growing across all sectors, and will continue to be a crucial gathering for the global travel and tourism industry. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
ATM takes place from 28 April to 1 May 2025, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.
Arabian Travel Week is a week-long festival of events from 28 April to 4 May, alongside Arabian Travel Market 2025. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East's travel and tourism sector, it includes Start-Up Competition, Influencers' Event, GBTA Business Travel Forums, and ATM Travel Tech. The event also features ATM Buyer Networking and a series of country forums.
About RX
RX is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 36,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events and online portals across four continents. The events are Arabian Travel Market, WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
WTM London is the world's most influential travel & tourism event for the global travel community. The show is the ultimate destination for those seeking a macro view of the travel industry and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping it. WTM London is where influential travel leaders, buyers and high-profile travel companies gather to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and accelerate business outcomes.
Next event: 4 to 6 November 2025 at ExCel London
WTM Latin America is held annually in São Paulo and attracts more than 29,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers a qualified content combined with networking and business opportunities. In its most recent edition, in 2024, WTM Latin America maintained its focus on the effective generation of business and managed to secure the early scheduling of more than six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents, and exhibitors. WTM Latin America contents are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Next event: 14 – 16 April 2025, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, Brasil
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2022, WTM Africa facilitated more than 7 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 7% compared to 2019 and welcomed more than 6 thousand visitors (unaudited), the same number as in 2019.
Next event: 9 to 11 April 2025 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week's digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
WTM Global Hub, is the WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub.
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