BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT: Industry experts will gather in the UAE early next month to discuss sustainable decision-making and financing during the International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) Middle East Tourism Investment Session at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which will take place in Dubai during May 1–4, 2023.
The forum takes place against a backdrop of strong growth in the hospitality and tourism sector with around 10,292 hotel rooms currently in the pipeline for development in the Sultanate of Oman, according to a key report.
STR, a leading global provider of hotel industry related data, says as many as 150,000 hotel rooms are in development across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Saudi Arabia leads the list with 100,071 hotel rooms, followed by Dubai (27,095 rooms), Qatar (17,145), Bahrain (3,452) and Kuwait (1,369). In total, there are 159,424 pipeline rooms under contract in the Gulf at present.
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. Thanks to the participation of ITIC and a host of other finance-related sessions, ATM 2023 represents the ideal forum for travel, tourism and hospitality professionals from around the world to explore the latest investment opportunities and novel financing models with some of the biggest names in our sector.”
Taking place on day three of ATM 2023, the ‘ITIC Tourism Investment Session: Making Sustainable Decisions’ will feature insights from an array of industry experts. The sessions will begin with a tourism economic outlook for 2023 from Gerald Lawless, Director of ITIC Ltd, Invest Tourism Ltd and Ambassador for the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
ATM 2023’s ITIC sessions will conclude with an interview between Elizabeth Maclean, Co-Managing Director of Herdwick Communications, and Dr Lubna al Mazroei, Manager – Economic Diversification Investments at Oman Investment Authority, during which the two will discuss growing opportunities for women across the Middle East’s tourism industry.
Other investment-related highlights at ATM 2023 will include sessions on financing sustainable travel, backing green technologies, strengthening the supply chain, future-proofing the travel sector against geopolitical turmoil, the power of urban regeneration, future markets and space tourism.
The 30th edition of ATM will explore the future of sustainable travel in line with its theme, ‘Working Towards Net Zero’.
Having officially initiated its journey to net zero, the conference programme will explore how innovative sustainable travel trends are likely to evolve, allowing delegates to identify growth strategies within key vertical sectors.
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