Arab Spring countries hope for tourism

Countries affected by the Arab Spring are hoping for an increase in tourist numbers as the travel trade exhibition World Travel Market (WTM) opened in London Egypt and Tunisia have launched tourist drives, according to a global trends report released as the event opened at ExCeL House, to be held from 7-10 November. Egypt is even using the slogan: "Welcome to the country of peaceful revolution." WTM chairman Fiona Jeffery said: "The speed at which the marketing campaigns have been launched demonstrates the importance the new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia have put on inbound tourism for their long-term economic future. "Tourism can help build up these countries' new democracies and has the potential to do so across all the Arab Spring countries." The trends report, conducted by market analysis company Euromonitor International, also said that two in five people in the UK did not take a holiday this year. In addition, the report showed that almost half of holidaymakers continue to use mobile phones abroad, despite racking up huge bills. The low percentage of people taking holidays came from a survey of 1,600 people as part of the trends' report. Almost all those who did go away said they could only afford one trip of more than seven nights. Also, a third of those surveyed said they planned to travel less often, due to increased taxes. More than a quarter (26%) said rises in air passenger duty (APD) were a major issue but that they would continue to travel but on a lower budget. A delegation from the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) is bound for WTM’s 2011 edition a global leading event for the travel industry.    DEPE’s participation in WTM is part of the efforts highlighting the various festivals organised by the Establishment and also communicating its mandate of developing, promoting, facilitating, and supporting the retail and events sectors. A focus of DEPE’s participation will be the 2012 edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), in addition to communicating the Dubai Calendar, the official Government of Dubai listing for events in the city, which is managed by DEPE.     Ibrahim Saleh, DEPE Festivals Coordinator General and Deputy CEO said that the WTM is an important and much-awaited event in the global travel industry. “We are aiming to promote DEPE’s festivals such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Summer Surprises, ‘Eid in Dubai’, Ramadan in Dubai, and the brand Modhesh. Dubai Calendar, which is the official listing of events in Dubai, will also be actively promoted by DEPE at WTM.” Apart from promoting DEPE and its festivals to a global audience, the delegation will also be keen on tapping into the UK tourist segment. The UK is one of the major tourism source markets for Dubai. As many as 719,889 British tourists stayed in Dubai’s hotels last year.   World Travel Market is a business to business exhibition that was initiated to bring together the world’s various destinations on to one platform. The event provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay informed of the latest developments in the travel industry. Events this week include seminars, presentations and debates on the latest industry trends and developments. Key Speakers include Stephen Sackur, Presenter of HARDtalk, BBC World News; Michael Wisbrun , CEO, Sky Team; Richard Fain, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises; Keith Williams, CEO, British Airways The event gets has 183 new exhibitors this year. Travel & tourism industry professionals are arriving at London Excel in preparation for the event. National tourist boards, destination management companies, technology companies, ground handlers, lodge owners, and tour operators are all hosting their own stands for the first time. The growth has been largely driven by the technology and online travel region, which will host 71 exhibitors with their own stands for the first time. The increase is symptomatic of the growth of the importance of technology in the industry. “The number of new exhibitors at this year’s event shows the importance of WTM for generating business for exhibitors. “WTM 2010 generated a massive £1,425 million in industry deals and research of our Meridian Club buyers reveals they plan to sign contracts equating to even more business this year.”