The Philippines returns to the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 on 6 to 9 May at the Dubai World Trade Center. As the Middle East’s leading global travel event, ATM is a crucial platform for nations to spotlight their tourism offerings and foster invaluable partnerships within the global travel industry.

Under the theme “Empowering Innovation — Transforming Travel through Entrepreneurship,” the Philippines will underscore its commitment to innovation and sustainability in tourism by leveraging opportunities such as contactless engagement devices, prominent advertisements on the exhibitor portal, and promoting the Travel Philippines app.

For 2024, the country’s participation aims to exceed last year’s success in the Arabian Travel Market. The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, who organized the country’s participation, secured a larger booth space at 90-square-meter compared to last year and invited 16 seller companies who will showcase diverse tourism offerings to garner interest as a preferred Asian destination among attendees.

“There’s been a remarkable surge in outbound tourism from the Middle East, particularly from GCC countries. Based on the data, we see a growing appetite for international travel among GCC citizens, especially after the pandemic, and we see this trend continuing to rise in the coming years. This is one of the major reasons why we are doubling down on our efforts to maintain and enhance our presence in the Middle East. With our continued participation at the ATM, we aim to position the Philippines as a top-of-mind destination in Asia,” said TPB chief operating officer Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles.

Leading the delegation will be Department of Tourism (DoT) Secretary Maria Christina Garcia Frasco, with Undersecretary Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakr, Assistant Secretaries Verna Buensuceso and Rica Bueno, TPB chief operating officer Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles, and select members from the House of Representatives.

This year, the Philippine booth will feature 16 private sector co-exhibitors from hotels, tour operators, and DMCs such as Annset Holidays Inc., Ark Travel Express, Biyaheko.ph, Boracay Adventures Travel N Tours, CTph Tours, Rajah Travel Corporation, VIA Philippines Travel Corporation, Atmosphere Resorts and Spa, Bellevue Hotel, El Nido Resorts, The Farm at San Benito, Lalaguna Villas Luxury Dive Resort and Spa, Lihim Resorts, El Nido by Araw Hospitality Group, The Manila Hotel, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts and Okada Manila.

In 2023, ATM broke its records in terms of attendance, reaching more than 40,000 visitors across the 4-day event. It also drew 2,109 exhibiting companies from 156 countries, generating over US$3B in sales.