Saturday 18 / May / 2024
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, will participate on Monday in the 31st edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Exhibition in Dubai, UAE.
"The Middle East region, according to indicators of the World Tourism Organisation, has witnessed the biggest tourism growth after the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Haitham bin Mohammed Al Ghassani, Director General of Promotion at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
He said that the Sultanate’s participation in the Arabian Travel Market 2024 aims to establish new relations, exchange knowledge and expertise in the various spheres.
The exhibition will be an ideal platform to promote tourism growth witnessed by the Sultanate of Oman, he said, adding Oman will promote the Khareef Dhofar season and other activities.
He stated that the heritage and tourism sector is one of the most important sectors in Oman that focuses on the development process by setting clear strategic visions to become an essential component of the national economy.
The tourism sector in Oman has witnessed steady growth in all fields and its contribution to the gross domestic product reached 2.4 percent by the end of 2022, and the number of tourists coming to Oman in 2023 reached about 4 million, an increase of 36.7 percent compared to 2022.
He explained that the efforts of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, include steps to promote it as a world-leading tourist destination, enhance the country’s position in international forums through cooperation with partners, and the effective presence of the Sultanate of Oman in foreign tourism markets through participation in prominent events and exhibitions, in line with the future expansion plans to attract tourists from non-traditional markets and provide all the services and facilities that suit these markets to boost tourism activity in the Sultanate of Oman.
The event will last for days and will be organised under the theme (Empowering innovation; transforming travel through entrepreneurship”.
The Omani delegation is led by Azzan bin Qasim Al Busaidi, Undersecretary for Tourism at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and comprises 36 companies and establishments from the Sultanate’s tourism sector.
The event will see the participation of over 200 delegates in the field of travel and tourism industry worldwide.
The exhibition aims to boost the expertise of the participants and to accelerate sustainability of the tourism and hospitality sector and travel through the participation of exhibitors in the fields of aviation and hospitality, tourism landmarks and technology. It also aims to attract finance to increase the contribution of this sector to the global GDP.
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 aims to avail innovation and help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals through development of a more sustainable travel and tourism sector.
The key events of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 include holding sessions which focus on entrepreneurship and specialised sessions for key tourism exporting markets and a number of events associated with the theme of the Arab Travel Market 2024.
It is with mentioning that the edition of the year 2023 of the Arabian Travel Market saw the presence of over 40,000 specialised participants in the field of travel and over 2100 exhibitors and representatives of over 150 countries.
