It is estimated that Overseas travel expenditure by Saudis will exceed $12.2 billion annually by 2005 even as the Kingdom is engaged in efforts to build an inbound tourism base, according to industry sources.
This will elevate the Kingdom, according to Arab News, to eighth in terms of worldwide tourism spending from its present 11th position.
Matt Thompson, group exhibition director of overseas events at the Surrey-based Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) was quoted by the news service as saying that “nine companies from the Kingdom will be directly represented at the show, scheduled from May 1st to 4th,” receiving “its biggest ever turnout of trade visitors from the Kingdom as 70 travel professionals from the country have already registered their attendance via the ATM website (http://travel.reedexpo.com).”
According to Thompson, the Kingdom has been prioritized by a majority of exhibitors as a key target market and it consistently features within exhibitors’ top six potential markets.
The Kingdom’s leading travel buyers are also in the ATM spotlight, the news service said, citing that twenty of its top buyers are to be invited into the specially hosted buyer program where they will be accommodated at the soon-to-open five-star deluxe Dusit Dubai Hotel.
The 20 Saudi buyers will join another 50 of the world’s leading incentive decision-makers who are also being hosted and are scheduled to meet the ATM exhibitors. “Responding to industry demand, the 2001 hosted buyer program will focus on the lucrative MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) market. In last year’s post-show survey, 84 percent of participants polled said the MICE sector is crucial to them,” Thompson said – Albawaba.com
