All the world is in London ... well, quite a lot of it, as the World Travel Market is taking place at a Docklands Expo centre, with stands from dozens of nations represented.
Gulf nations are well represented and, according to one leading economist who distils tourist trends, so it should be as the GCC dominates the fast-growing Middle East market. Inside this there are two undisputed giants, with the UAE well established and Saudi Arabia making big claims. Economist Dave Goodger said the rapid development of tourist spots across the area is driving the growth in numbers.
I spoke to Shahab Shayan of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, who said the emirate is on track for record figures, exceeding last year's 18.7 million visitors.
Dubai Fix
Mr Shayan took pride in global phenomena such as the craze for “Dubai chocolate”, inspired by the Fix line and a separate very popular pop-up at Harrods, the London department store.
"It's a testament to what the city of Dubai is, and also the effort that these home-grown concepts have put together," he said. "I think these are great ambassadors for the city of Dubai and what it has to offer. And you know, if I'm going to be biased and say it's great that they can have a little taste of Dubai before they come to Dubai.
Mainstream markets for Dubai chocolate have helped boost tourism. Steve Dresser / LinkedIn
“We've currently just launched the Dubai fitness challenge that's a full month, and that's gone global in terms of positioning."
Mr Shayan highlighted the importance of providing value for money.
The Palestine stand at the World Travel Market in London. Damien McElroy / The National
The UAE has a robust presence at the WTM, with hundreds of exhibitors from across the Emirates. The experiences on offer include an Aston Martin DB5 James Bond-themed road tour in Sharjah.
Other stands making big waves in the Middle East section included Oman and Saudi Arabia. A special shout-out to Palestine and Iraq, as well.
One area of discussion at the WTM was the effect of AI on how travel is conducted. We can all see that people are using inquiries to produce the framework of their trips but are they using the machines as the agents of old to book the whole thing?
Mr Shayan observed there is a fragment of behaviour that makes up the consumer journey. The market is now divided between the traditional relationship agent and the online travel booking. That second leg further divides between online direct and online travel agents, known in the trade as OTAs.
As they are technology companies, those operations will be keen to capture as much of the new booking trends as possible. "Obviously, we definitely foster relationships that move towards the future and we are definitely having proactive conversations on how this will happen," said Mr Shayan. "But for the time being we're still dealing with those two elements, which is the traditional and the online."
Mr Goodger said people were primarily using AI for information but that was driving independent behaviour as well. "People have much greater potential to find information and find those better deals and travel potentially more," he said.
Travel ties
On the eve of the event, I chaired a couple of panels at the London Arab Travel Summit 2025, which was a chance for key industry voices to discuss how technology, creativity and human experience are shaping the future of global travel.
There was a lot of talk about how unlocking local culture and the terrain were key trends in regional travel.
On a second panel we discussed how the UK maritime sector had a mother lode of industries and skills over its regional partners. With Oman, for example, hoping its new shareholding in Tui can bring a cruise ship base to its coastline, the UK can offer the skills to staff those giant vessels. Creating new links between places like Liverpool and Salalah is the future, then.
A panel session at the Arab Travel Summit featured yours truly; Jace Tyrrell, of Opportunity London; Mohammad Memon of the Europe Arab Bank; and Mark Davy of Futurecity. Photo: London Arabia Organisation
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures May 9, v Malaysia May 10, v Qatar May 13, v Malaysia May 15, v Qatar May 18 and 19, semi-finals May 20, final
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
MAKE UP & HAIR
1917 - Naomi Donne
BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
BRITISH SHORT FILM
AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
THE MAGIC BOAT - Naaman Azh
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), EsekaiaDranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), JaenBotes (Exiles), KristianStinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), EmosiVacanau (Harlequins), NikoVolavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), ThinusSteyn (Exiles)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (captain), Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Saqlain Haider, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Naveed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Boota, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed
Fixtures Nov 29-Dec 2
UAE v Afghanistan, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
