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With more than 150,000 pipeline hotel rooms currently under contract in the GCC, the International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) Middle East Tourism Investment Session at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023 will examine sustainable decision-making and financing in the region’s tourism industry. The event will be held from May 1-4 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Saudi Arabia leads the regional development with a pipeline of over 100,000 hotel rooms, according to data released by STR, followed by Dubai with 27,095 rooms under contract. The conference will feature various panel discussions and events related to industry financing, highlighting investment as a key focus throughout the ATM 2023.

Gerald Lawless Director of ITIC ltd

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “With nearly 160,000 hotel rooms under development across the GCC, this region is undoubtedly a global hotspot for industry investment right now.” The ITIC’s opening session will feature insights from Gerald Lawless, Director of ITIC Ltd and Invest Tourism Ltd and Ambassador for the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), who will provide a tourism economic outlook for 2023.

The ITIC Tourism Investment Session will also host a panel discussion on the increasing correlation between sustainability and investments in travel and tourism projects. Moderated by Sameer Hashmi, Middle East Business Correspondent at BBC News, the panel will include speakers such as HE Ahmed Issa, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities; Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism; Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; and Maher Abou Nasr, Vice President, Operations – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at IHG Hotels & Resorts.

ATM 2023’s investment-related highlights will include sessions on financing sustainable travel, backing green technologies, and strengthening the supply chain. High-profile speakers such as Haitham Mattar, Managing Director – IMEA at IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Guy Hutchinson, President and CEO of Rotana Hotel Group, will attend the panels.

The conference will explore the future of sustainable travel with the theme “Working Towards Net Zero,” and feature a sustainability category at its annual exhibitor awards for the first time. The conference program will allow delegates to identify growth strategies within vital vertical sectors while providing a platform for regional experts to explore a sustainable future ahead of COP28, which will take place in November 2023 at Expo City Dubai.

ATM 2023 is held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre and its strategic partners, including Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner, and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.

To register for ATM 2023, please log on to: https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb/enquire.html.