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.
What visitor profile do you expect?
ATM 2012 reported a healthy increase in visitor numbers driven by the show’s renewed B2B focus.
We also recorded a significant rise in decision makers and influencers – up by 35% - from members of its buyers club, hosted delegates, regional and international speakers and hosted luxury travel buyers. At ATM 2012, 74% of visitors were of management status or above and 69% of visitors either influence or have direct purchasing authority. The majority of the trade visitors last year were interested in buying accommodation, air travel and technology.
What’s your advice to exhibitors to make the most of Arabian Travel Market 2013?
The past 20 years have seen a shift in exhibitor attitudes towards their participation at the event. Today pre-show planning and preparation are essential for the show and exhibitors will need to have strong newsworthy announcements and launches to attract the attention of visitors and media.
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Announcements should be prepared in advance of the show. Exhibitors should also make the most of social media campaigns leading up to the event in order to interact directly with their key target markets.
A great way to make sure you are meeting with the key buyers who attend ATM, which is available to all exhibitors, is the ‘My ATM’ function, which allows you to pre-book meetings and appointments, saving time onsite. My ATM is an online diary system that allows exhibitors to request meetings with our buyers to make sure that they don’t waste a single minute of their time when they arrive onsite.
Exhibitors will also need to make sure their stands look interesting and attractive as it is a reflection of their organisation after all. They should also make use of the press conference rooms to communicate their news directly with the onsite media representatives.
Another way to ensure they make the most out of the show is to download our free Arabian Travel Market app which gives up-to-date information about the event as well as the exhibitor portal which can be used to organise and streamline all meetings which have been set up over the four days, and upload exhibitor press releases which feed directly into the online media room.
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