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Arabian Travel Market Dubai with Huge Increase in Exhibitors from India

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Arabian Travel Market Dubai with Huge Increase in Exhibitors from India - TRAVELINDEXDubai, United Arab Emirates, February 26, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / Thanks to a significant uptick in annual outbound journeys predicted over the next two years, the Indian tourism sector will represent a key focus during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which will return to Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) for its 30th edition from 1-4 May.

According to recently released data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Indian nationals spent a record $10 billion in overseas travel during the first nine months of 2022, an increase of nearly 43% compared to pre-Covid figures.

Moreover, estimates from Indian business consultants, Nangia Anderson LLP, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), place the number of annual outbound journeys at more than 27 million, with a total value of over $42 billion by the year 2024. This makes India well-positioned to become one of the world’s most important outbound tourism markets and support growth in the Middle East’s tourism sector following the challenges of the global pandemic.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The levels of outbound travellers predicted from India in the coming years mean it can command serious attention within the travel, tourism and hospitality sector. At ATM 2023, we will give delegates, exhibitors and attendees the opportunity to explore the Indian travel sector through various show features, including the India Summit, which will look deeper into this key market.”

Many Indians regularly travel to the GCC region for leisure, business, or a combination of both, taking advantage of the short distance, with Mumbai to Dubai, just a three-hour flight. The number of direct flights between India and this region reflects these trends, with Emirates alone operating over 170 weekly flights to nine Indian cities – Gulf Air, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Oman Air each also have regular flights to Indian destinations.

Airfares to the Gulf from India are also far lower than for other destinations due to the short distance, further underscoring the convenience and popularity of leisure or business travel. In addition, there are 8.5 million Indian nationals currently working in the GCC, meaning there is already a significant level of familiarity between the two regions.

Last year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) hosted several high-profile exhibitors from India, including Goa Tourism and Uttar Pradesh Tourism. This year’s event will be no exception, with new Indian exhibitors such as One Above Destination Management Services (DMC), Adventure Overland and Visaero Visa already confirmed.

ATM 2023 will explore the future of sustainable travel in line with its theme of ‘Working Towards Net Zero’. Having officially initiated its journey to net zero, the conference programme will explore how innovative sustainable travel trends will likely evolve. It will enable delegates to identify growth strategies within key vertical sectors while providing a platform for regional experts to explore a sustainable future ahead of COP28, which will take place in November 2023 at Expo City Dubai.

The conference will also feature a sustainability category at its annual exhibitor awards for the first time. Exhibiting organisations will be recognised based on the extent to which they have considered the environmental impact of their stands and their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

ATM 2023 is held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre, and its strategic partners include Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.

For more information, log on to wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 30th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2022 attracted over 24,000 visitors and hosted over 31,000 participants including 1,600 exhibitors and attendees from 151 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 30th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2022 attracted over 24,000 visitors and hosted over 31,000 participants including 1,600 exhibitors and attendees from 151 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
Next in-person event: Monday 1 to Thursday 4 May 2023, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html

Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2023. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ILTM Arabia, ARIVAL Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, ITIC, GBTA Business Travel Forums, as well as ATM Travel Tech. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country forums.

About RX (Reed Exhibitions)
RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face-to-face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

RELX About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. The show facilitates business connections for the global (leisure) travel community. Senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating travel industry contracts. Next live event: Monday 6 to 8 November 2023 at ExCel London

WTM Latin America takes place annually in the city of São Paulo and attracts around 20,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers qualified content together with networking and business opportunities. In this its ninth edition – there have been eight face-to-face events along with a 100% virtual one, which was held in 2021 – WTM Latin America continued to focus on effective business generation and achieved the advance booking of six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors in 2022. Next event: Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 April 2023 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2022, WTM Africa facilitated more than 7 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 7% compared to 2019 and welcomed more than 6 thousand visitors (unaudited), the same number as in 2019. Next event: Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 April 2023 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town

About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel, LGBTQ+ travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.

WTM Global Hub, is the new WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

PATA Signs Organisational Partnership with Cvent

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PATA Signs Organisational Partnership with Cvent - TRAVELINDEXTysons, Virginia, United States, February 22, 2023 / TRAVELINDEX / The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce a new preferred partnership with Cvent, a leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider. “Our partnership with Cvent will enhance the user experience for our members and event delegates by providing an easy-to-use, integrated technology platform to maximise the impact of meetings and events before, during and after the event. I look forward to working with them in improving our event experiences and welcome them to the PATA family,” said PATA Chair Peter Semone.

As part of the agreement, Cvent will be the official Event Tech Partner for all PATA events for the next two years and PATA will be using Cvent’s comprehensive event marketing & management platform to manage and streamline every step of the event lifecycle including registration, event promotion, attendee engagement, and appointment scheduling between attendees, exhibitors, & sponsors to facilitate relationship building and enable a greater return on experience. By leveraging Cvent’s best-in-class technology and all-in-one event management platform, PATA looks to provide a more engaging and immersive attendee experience, while enabling a more streamlined event management process to drive greater ROI.

“As global travel continues to accelerate, our partnership with PATA comes at the right time. PATA is a powerhouse within the travel and hospitality space and we’re proud to provide our industry-leading event technology to elevate their event experiences and facilitate more meaningful member engagement. In today’s digital-first environment, technology is at the forefront, and as a long-time leader in the space, we’ve helped tens of thousands of hospitality professionals leverage Cvent technology to expand their reach, engage planners, streamline processes, and increase group business revenue We look forward to working with PATA to further enhance the value, quality and sustainable growth of travel within the Asia Pacific region and to support their members through our innovative technology,” said Sandeep Nagpal, Cvent Vice President and Head of Marketing.

About PATA
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, which includes government, state and city tourism bodies; international airlines and airports; hospitality organisations, and educational institutions, as well as thousands of young tourism professional (YTP) members across the world. The PATA network also embraces the grassroots activism of the PATA Chapters and Student Chapters, who organise numerous travel industry training programmes and business development events across the world. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 32 local PATA Chapters worldwide, while hundreds of students are members of the 28 PATA Student Chapters globally. The PATAmPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members’ desktops and mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA’s Head Office has been in Bangkok since 1998. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing and London.

About Cvent
With more than 4,800 employees and over 21,000 customers worldwide, Cvent’s solutions give event organisers and marketers the tools they need to automate and simplify the event management lifecycle and maximise the impact of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, whilst offering hotels and venues the digital marketing tools they need to win more group and corporate travel business. Cvent solutions optimise the event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage millions of meetings and events.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

MICE Show Asia Returns with Strong Line-Up of Exhibitors and Partners

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MICE Show Asia Returns with Strong Line-Up of Exhibitors and Partners - VISITSINGAPORE.org - TRAVELINDEXSingapore, Singapore, October 6, 2022 / TRAVELINDEX / Asia’s premier MICE show with strong exhibitor line-up such as Abbott Rapid Diagnostics, Alaska Destination Specialists, Destination Hospitality, Incheon Tourism Organisation, NYC & Company, Sapporo Convention Bureau, Ungerboeck, Visit Anchorage, Visit Guam, Visit Monaco, YTS Services Marketing and many more, underlining the growth of Asia MICE market. MICE Show Asia 2022 is a three-day conference and exhibition for the meetings industry in Asia Pacific (APAC) that aims to redefine industry practices and identify new trends that will shape the future of MICE. The fourth edition of the premier MICE Show in Asia returns as an in-person event held at Marina Bay Sands from Wednesday, 19 October – Friday, 21 October 2022. The event is co-located with ITB Asia and Travel Tech Asia and will be organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore).

Strong presence of exhibitors signals the importance of MICE Show Asia for the industry

Across the three days, more than 30 exhibitors from Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVB), MICE buyer organisations, destinations, MICE tech companies and start-ups will showcase their products and services including Abbott Rapid Diagnostics, Alaska Destination Specialists, Business Events Perth, Business Events Sarawak, Czech Republic, Destination Hospitality, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Incheon Tourism Organisation, Latvia Travel, Mississippi River Country USA, NYC & Company, River Cruises DCS -Touristik GmbH, Sapporo Convention Bureau, Saxony Tourism Germany, Taipei City Government, Ungerboeck, Visit Anchorage, Visit Berlin, Visit Brussels, Visit Estonia, Visit Finland, Visit Guam, Visit Iceland, Visit Malta, Visit Monaco, Visit Rovaniemi, Visit Sarajevo, YTS Services Marketing, and Zagreb Tourist Board.

“MICE Show Asia 2022 will bring together industry suppliers, meetings & events professionals and emerging MICE innovators to connect and build the future of MICE. With the industry’s revival and positive signs, this event is a must-attend for the meetings industry in APAC to get the latest insights and strategies and capture the immense growth of the Asia MICE market”, said Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of MICE Show Asia, Travel Tech Asia and ITB Asia.

MICE Show Asia Conference: Original content, breaking news and thought-provoking ideas

MICE Show Asia will take place on the leading MICE & Corporate Travel conference stage, with a strong international participation from speakers and partners from International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and many more. The who’s who of the community will discuss five main topics ranging from “Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Event”, “Digital Nomads – A New Type of Corporate Travellers”, “Duty of Care for All: The Extended Role of Travel Managers with Travel Risk Management”, “Experiences Reimagined: The New Growth Indicator” and “Emerging Focus on Sustainability and Wellness for MICE Travel”.

What the future holds for an in-person event, especially in the wake of a global pandemic, is the main topic of the CVB’s panel on Day 1, 19 October, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., moderated by Ciaran McQuillan, Head of Special Events, Asia, Global Media Services, Associated Press. Titled “How Large-scale Meetings, Conventions, and Live Events Are Surging Anew”, Gareth Martin, CEO, Business Events Perth, Noor Ahmad Hamid, COO, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Jerry Cito, Executive Vice President, Convention Development, NYC & Company, Marico Ogi, MICE Director, Sapporo Convention Bureau and Nichapa Yoswee, Senior Vice President, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will explore what it takes to be future ready and how the industry has rebounded to take the MICE industry forward.

The Buyers Meet TMCs Panel Discussion on Day 2, 20 October, 3 – 4 p.m., titled “The State of Corporate Travel 2023”, will feature C-level executives talking about the future of corporate travel, trends that might continue into 2023 and beyond and how the MICE industry is evolving. The panel discussion will be moderated by Vivek Neb, Managing Director APAC & MEA and Global Head, Travel & Tourism, Escalent, who will lead a debate with Sanghamitra Bose, Vice President and General Manager Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, AMEX GBT, Brenda Quek, Asia-Pacific Travel Meetings and Events Program and Engagement Leader, Ernst & Young (EY), Khaled Khattab, Travel, Events & Congresses Manager, Novartis and Carl Jones, Managing Director, South-East Asia, SAP Concur.

The MICE Leaders’ Panel, “Return to a World Transformed: Revitalising MICE for a New Era” on Day 3, 21 October, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. features a discussion where professionals, buyers and sellers of travel and meetings services explore how different players in the MICE ecosystem can work together to deliver a better bottom line and future for the industry. The panel will be moderated by Richard Ireland, President, Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS). Confirmed panelists include Patricia Cheong, Managing Director Asia, International Conference Services (ICS), Waikin Wong, Regional Director Asia Pacific, ICCA – International Congress and Convention Association, Wee Min Ong, Vice President of Conventions & Exhibitions, Marina Bay Sands, Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau and Arnold T. Gonzales, Head, MICE Department, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines.

Traditional in-person meetings were paused in 2020, but innovation flourished out of necessity. Now is the time for venue providers to use those lessons learnt over the past years to rebuild MICE even stronger. The Venue Providers’ Talks, titled “The New Meeting Space” on Day 1, 19 October, 2 – 3 p.m., will feature Gilles Cretallaz, COO, Dusit International, Arun Madhok, CEO, Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Chua Wee Phong, Chief Executive (Venues), Constellar and James Fong, CEO, Jewel Changi Airport, who will share on how venue providers are building safe, secure, and thoughtful meeting space and experience for planners and suppliers.

MICE Show Asia Conference Partners
MICE Show Asia can count on well-established conference partners including International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).

IAPCO welcomes its Ambassador Stéphane Talboom to discuss the “The Future of Business Meetings and Travel in Asia from a PCO’s Perspective”.

IAEE and MPI will lead four joint conference sessions where eligible practitioners will earn 4 CE hours for their certification revalidation. The topics of the joint sessions are “Meetings & Exhibitions Outlook: Future Predictions for the Business of Meetings”, “Top 7 Trends in Sales Today”, “Extraordinarily Inclusive: Events and Exhibitions that Embrace Everyone” and “The Exhibition and Event Professionals Marketing Playbook”. All the four sessions will be led by Karen Gonzales, Director Global Business Development, IAEE and Estefani Aguirre, Vice President, Business Development, MPI who will join together to navigate the audience through the overarching trends impacting MICE market.

ICCA will host a C-Suite Talk, titled “Global Trends – Reshaping Business Events: The Fast Track of Recovery”, with Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani bin Daud, Board of Director, Member of ICCA as expert speaker.

SITE will host a C-Suite Talk featuring its Past President Rajeev Kohli who will talk about “5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About the Future of Incentive Travel in a Post Pandemic World”.

Further high-profile industry leaders have their say.
Other experts leading the industry conversation with their market insights, brand new ideas and inspiring case studies include:

– Andy-Michaels Lim, Managing Director – Singapore & Malaysia, Amadeus
– Sanjay Seth, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, BCD Meetings & Events
– Amelia Roziman, CEO, Business Events Sarawak
– Foo Sze Zhaun, Executive Director, Corporate Information Travel (CIT)
– Laura Ruffles, Executive Director, Global COO, Corporate Travel Management (CTM)
– Maura Geertsma, Vice President, Global Retention Center of Excellence, CWT
– Ian Cummings, Global Head, CWT Meetings & Events
– Teresa Matheson, Head of APAC, Egencia
– Tracey Edwards, Global Strategic Lead & GM ANZ, Event Travel Management (ETM)
– Bertrand Saillet, Managing Director, Asia, FCM Travel
– Ben Taylor, CEO, APAC, George P. Johnson
– Martin Sirk, International Advisor, Global Association Hubs Partnership (GAHP)
– Kelli Vettoretto, Regional Vice President, HelmsBriscoe
– Neelu Singh, Managing Director, APAC, HRS Group
– Lim Hui Ject, Managing Director, Singapore & Brunei, International SOS
– Stephane Talboom, VP Sales and Marketing, K.I.T. Group
– Richard Soo, Chief Guru @ Creative Marketing (Managing Director), MEP Meeting & Exhibition Planners
– Jonathan Seto, Senior Vice President and Managing Director – APAC, MOI Global
– Agnieszka Majkowska, Experience Director, Prudential Polska
– Edward Koh, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
– David Hughes, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Uniglobe Travel International
– Alycia Brady, Managing Director – Singapore, We Are Aspire

About ITB Asia
ITB Asia, Asia’s leading travel trade show, is organised by Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd and supported by the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau. The annual B2B trade show and convention will feature hundreds of exhibiting companies from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, covering not only the leisure market, but also MICE and corporate travel. Exhibitors from every sector of the industry, including destinations, airlines and airports, hotels and resorts, theme parks and attractions, inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruise lines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities and travel technology companies are expected to attend.

ITB Asia is the premier meeting place for the travel trade industry to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing business relationships with the most important players in the region.

About MICE Show Asia
MICE Show Asia is the premier MICE event in Asia where incentive travel, meetings and events industries come together to connect and build the future of MICE. The annual B2B trade show and convention features industry suppliers, meetings & events professionals to up-and-coming MICE innovators from a wide range of disciplines, sectors and all levels of seniority. The show is co-located with ITB Asia and Travel Tech Asia.

About Travel Tech Asia
Travel Tech Asia is the premier travel technology show in Asia. The trade show is where latest technologies, emerging trends, leading travel brands and innovative start-ups are all at one place to create the new possibilities of travel. From travel tech suppliers, innovative start-ups to leading travel brands who are at the forefront of the industry transformation, Travel Tech Asia welcomes attendees from all levels of seniority across a wide range of disciplines and sectors in the travel industry. The show will be co-located with ITB Asia and MICE Show Asia.

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News

UNWTO and Catalan Tourist Board Launch First World Sports Tourism Congress

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UNWTO and Catalan Tourist Board Launch First World Sports Tourism Congress

Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain, September 24, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, and the Minister of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia, Roger Torrent, presented the first World Sports Tourism Congress and its programme, within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at a press conference held in Lloret de Mar and Barcelona.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

The Congress, which previously had to be postponed due to the pandemic, will take place on 25 and 26 November at the Olympic Conference Centre in the Catalan town of Lloret de Mar. The presentation was attended by Marta Domènech, Director-General of Tourism, Ion Vilcu, Director of the Department of Affiliate Members of UNWTO, Narcís Ferrer, Director of the Catalan Tourist Board, and Jaume Dulsat, Mayor of Lloret de Mar.

The Congress will have a total of 62 speakers from different countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Wales, Northern Ireland and Croatia. Leading figures from the world of sport and tourism, representing entities that are also UNWTO Affiliate Members, have already confirmed their attendance as speakers, such as Petra Stusek, President and CEO of European Cities Marketing; Kattia Juarez Dubón of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme; Edwin Moses, Olympic medallist; Marco Mazzi, Vice- President of the International Sports Travel Agencies Association, and Mafalda Magalhaes, Director of FC Porto Museum.

Registration is now open at . The Congress will be a hybrid event, allowing both in-person and virtual participation, and aims to strengthen the relationship between sports tourism and sustainable and inclusive development, diversification, differentiation and de-seasonalization. Also collaborating in the organization of the event are the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board and the City Council of Lloret de Mar through Lloret Turismo.

The Congress, which already had almost 400 pre-registered participants before the official opening of registration, will address topics such as the challenges for the sector posed by COVID-19; trends in sport and physical activity; innovation in the development of sports tourism; mass attendance at sporting events; as well as the environmental framework, diversity and inclusion in the world of sport.

The programme also includes other aspects, such as different public-private governance strategies, the digital transformation of the sector, e-sports, digital marketing, communication and commercialization. Over the two days of the Congress, there will be different sports activities for the participants, academic presentations and technical visits; in addition, spaces will be set up for networking to maximize synergies among the attendees.

Telepresence at the Congress through holograms

Among the innovations that the Congress will bring, as presented at the press conference, are two hologram booths to enable the participation of different speakers who will not be in Lloret de Mar in person. It will be the first event in Catalonia to use this advanced technology, presented at the Mobile World Congress 2021. Fibre-optics and 5G connectivity will make it possible to bring personalities from all over the world closer to the Congress remotely and in real time, through giant screens.

Tourism and Sports, a priority line of action for UNWTO

For the World Tourism Organization, Tourism and Sport represents a priority that it has been actively developing over the past two years. In addition to organizing this World Sports Tourism Congress together with the Catalan Tourist Board, UNWTO has supported other projects focused on this line of action.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

UNWTO recognizes the beneficial bond of mutual reinforcement that unites tourism and sport. Key indicators such as employment linked to sport, the percentage of trips initiated for sports reasons, the total expenditure associated with these trips and public spending linked to sport, have been registering remarkable growth in recent years. Sports tourism also raises the visibility of destinations and encourages investment in infrastructure, with its positive multiplier effects at the economic and social levels.

In the current context of crisis that the tourism sector, in particular, and all other sectors of society and the economy are experiencing, the contribution of each component and subsector will be very important, and the area of tourism and sport will be no exception.

Beyond the economic indicators mentioned above, it is imperative to highlight the values that sport inspires and promotes, and that apply to all aspects of economic and social life, including tourism.

The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili said: “… the gradual resumption of the calendar of competitions and major sporting events is an important driver of the restart of tourism after the unprecedented shock of the pandemic. Sporting events can play a decisive role in the tourism development in destinations”.

Lloret de Mar – Costa Brava

In recent years, sports tourism has become a strategic sector in Catalonia thanks to its state-of-the-art facilities and the wide range of possibilities it offers for sports-themed stays for individuals and teams alike. In 2003, the Catalan Tourist Board created its Sports Tourism Brand, a distinction that is granted to municipalities, facilities and specialized companies that meet quality standards in the different sports disciplines and recognizes excellence in resources and services to practice sports or enjoy events and championships for elite athletes, professionals and fans of major sporting events.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

Since 2006, Lloret de Mar has been recognized by the Catalan Tourist Board as a certified Sports Tourism Destination in the disciplines of football, athletics, swimming, group sports, triathlon and cycling. The municipality has an extensive hotel infrastructure to accommodate all attendees of the Congress and the different parallel events. Each year it receives more than 60,000 athletes and accompanying persons, and during 2019, it hosted a total of 446 sports events and competitions.

First published at TravelCommunication.net

First published at TravelNewsHub.com – Global Travel News