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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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
