ATM 2012 was opened by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, with Reed Travel Exhibitions portfolio director Mark Walsh to his left.
Can you tell us more about the UNWTO forum?
For the second year running, ATM 2013 will host a special UNWTO forum, with this year’s session taking place on Tuesday May 7, under the theme “Tourism and Aviation: Building a Common Agenda for Growth”. In 2012, international tourism hit the historic milestone of one billion people travelling the planet in a year. Over half arrived at their destinations by air.
The extraordinary growth of international tourism over the last six decades – from 25 million tourists in 1950 to one billion in 2012 – is as much due to advances in air transport as to the rise of the middle class, the growing wealth in industrialised and emerging countries and the forces of globalisation. The development of tourism in the Middle East is a classic example of how tourism and aviation can pull together as drivers of growth.
The Ministerial Summit, which is to be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Arabian Travel Market, will bring together ministers of tourism and leaders from the aviation industry from around the world to discuss the following: How can aviation and tourism policies combine to foster economic growth and sustainable development considering the example of the Middle East?
What are the current obstacles and opportunities for market growth: connectivity, infrastructure development, visa facilitation and taxation?
How can closer relations be fostered between the Middle East and other world regions to enhance tourism?
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