Middle East business travel spending adapts to global shifts, reaching 6.1% growth in 2025, say experts at IBTM@ATM 2025
Business travel in 2025 remains strong, but evolving factors from economic conditions and budgets to technology, sustainability, and traveller expectations are reshaping how and why we travel for work
IBTM@ATM Business Events Stage at Arabian Travel Market 2025 provides critical insights into the evolving global corporate travel and MICE landscape
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Current trends in business travel spending, changing global economic conditions, and the increasing impact of regional economic strategies have emerged as significant forces shaping the future of business travel in the Middle East.
Today, experts gathered at the new Business Events Stage during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, part of the newly launched IBTM@ATM Zone, to discuss how regional business travel spending is adapting in response to these global shifts and to explore the financial outlook driving strategic developments across the sector.
In partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the session titled State of the Nation: Navigating the Future of Business Travel in the Middle East provided a thorough analysis of the market dynamics influencing corporate travel budgets and decision-making processes today.
Catherine Logan, Regional Senior Vice President EMEA and APAC, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), said: 'In general, the argument for business travel in 2025 is strong, but transformational change will continue to influence how we travel for work around the world. These include economic stability, budget factors, how and where we work, implications of technology, the evolution of sustainability in business travel and the focus on the traveller.'
Logan also highlights that sustainably managed business travel is a force for good, driving progress for businesses, governments, economies and people.
According to the 2024 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook Report, the Middle East accounts for 1.2% of global business travel spend and has performed better than any other region post-COVID with spend reaching 19.4% higher than pre-COVID levels. The estimated business travel spending in the Middle East was $18.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% in 2025, highlighting the region's strategic importance in the global corporate travel and events ecosystem.
Ciaran Kelly, Managing Director of Middle East & Africa, FCM Travel, said: 'There is a positive outlook for business travel in the region, backed by trends we are seeing from our customers, surveys, and what our forecasts are for the year ahead. A lot of the growth is due to the public and private projects taking place – it is almost impossible to get a seat on a plane from Dubai to Riyadh, for example, and once you land, hotel availability is limited. Hotel occupancy across the region is the highest globally, around 70-80% mark putting a lot of pressure on hotels, but in general, everything is positive."
Reflecting on the significance of the session, Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: "Understanding the shifts in business travel spending is essential for companies that want to remain competitive and resilient in a fast-evolving market. Sessions like this at IBTM@ATM are crucial for providing our attendees with actionable insights and real-world analysis, empowering them to navigate shifting travel patterns and discover new opportunities in the Middle East and beyond."
The Business Events Stage at IBTM@ATM will continue to explore emerging trends across business travel, MICE, and corporate events until Wednesday, 30 April. The sessions will cover various topics, including the integration of AI and future-proofing strategies for business travel, the human connection versus AI in event experiences, new trends in Chinese outbound MICE travel, achieving net zero carbon emissions in the events industry, and advancing climate action through strategic partnerships in business travel, among other topics.
The 32nd edition of Arabian Travel Market, held under the theme 'Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow's Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity', will welcome more than 55,000 travel professionals from 166 countries this week at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), reinforcing Dubai's pivotal role as a centre for global tourism and business collaboration.
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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