Key Takeaways from ATM 2026

The Arabian Travel Market closed last week in Dubai with the message of continued collaboration, a hopeful outlook and a celebration of all that the UAE and the Middle East has to offer for travellers from around the world.

ITTN’s Katie was hosted by the Dubai Tourism Board with key UK travel agents for eight days last week. She had a wonderful time as the group travelled across the Arabian capital, visiting hotels, dining in exceptional restaurants and having unique experiences that only Dubai could offer. As the city’s new biggest fan, she was impressed by the friendliness of the people, safety and cleanliness of the city and how much there is on offer for every type of traveller!

The Arabian Travel Market hosted incredible events in conjunction with their conference across the week. On Sunday, the Gala Ball dinner was hosted in Madinat Jumeirah ahead of the conference, where key representatives spoke to Dubai’s future. Buyers, agents and trade were hosted on a boat ride on the marina on Monday, while on Tuesday, Katie attended a rooftop sushi extravaganza in the One&Only hotel’s Nobu One Za'abeel restaurant. On Thursday, the conference closed out with a rooftop reception in The Address, where guests could take part in the Skywalk, glass slide and Edge Walk to see the beautiful views of the city sparkling in the night!

Across these events, at ATM and in roundtable interviews, here’s Katie’s key takeaways from ATM 2026:

 

Continued Collaboration for a Positive Future

While the country recovers from the global impacts of the Middle East conflict, Dubai remains a staunch and strong reflection of the region’s durability. His Excellency Issam Kazim (CEO, DCTCM and DET), who spoke at the 2026 ATM Gala Ball on Sunday night, made this message abundantly clear: “we are a city that stood together, responded together and will continue to grow together”.

Kazim spoke to the close collaboration between the government and their private sector partners whom they engaged early; offering immediate support and closely aligning them with future planning. During the conflict, the strong coordination between their aviation partners allowed the UAE government to respond effectively. Since then, 98% of Emirates’ global network has resumed serving 138 destinations across 72 countries with more than 1,600 weekly flights. Hotels are adapting during the continued uncertainty by offering extend stays and flexibility, while guest support has been prioritised to enhance comfort and continuity. Dubai has two key mindsets that it brings to its collaborative process. First, its on-the-ground strategy: guided by the Dubai Economic Agenda Dubai 2033 (D33).

This agenda outlines key goals to be achieved by 2033:

AED 32 trillion (7.59 trillion euro): Target cumulative economic output over the decade.

AED 25.6 trillion (6.07 trillion euro): Foreign trade goal for goods and services.

AED 650 billion (154.11 billion euro): Total foreign direct investment (FDI) target.

AED 100 billion (23.71 billion euro): Annual economic contribution from digital transformation.

30 Unicorns: High-growth startups targeted for global scale.

400 Cities: Global trading partner network expansion

The city’s forward-looking vision ensures it remains a global leader for business and leisure as it continues to “compare itself against itself” to consistently be the best city to visit, live and work in. The Dubai mindset to “Dubai-It” is a philosophy inspired by the city’s developmental journey and track record of turning bold ideas into reality, ambitions into achievements and visions into visible results.

 

Tourism as Key to Future Success

On Wednesday, Katie joined a roundtable of international journalists who had the opportunity to speak to Hoor Alkhaja (Senior Vice President - International Operations at Dubai Economy and Tourism). Alkhaja spoke to how it’s been an exciting time of late, with reassurance from international partners and the reinstallation of confidence in the destination.

“We don’t believe in transactional relationships,” Alkhaja said, “the private sector and the public sector work very much hand-in-hand, and we see each other through both the good times and the challenging times.”

This hard work and strong collaboration are beginning to bare their fruit. From January until August 2026, the city welcomed 6.97 million international visitors, with August being its strongest monthly visitation since February 2026 with visitors reaching over 869,000. Western Europe accounts for 20% of this with South Asia accounting for 17% of tourism. GCC accounted for 16%, CIS and EE accounted for 14% with MENA accounting for 10%. Americas (7%), Africa (5%) and Australia (2%) continue to be a focus for the Dubai Tourism brand.

In August 2026, 794 accommodations are available in Dubai across hotels and apartments: “From January to August, there were more than 21 million occupied room nights,” Hoor Alkhaja said Wednesday, “keeping Dubai at number seven, in the top ten globally. We're very proud of that figure.”

Dubai is known for its groundbreaking architecture and world-record-breaking achievements, but it’s also focused on giving back to the community. The city is the First Certified Autism Destination in the Eastern hemisphere with 70,000+ people trained in autism and sensory awareness. Accessibility is embedded across hotels, attractions, transport and visitor touchpoints. The city is also extremely focused on sustainability with 237 hotels awarded the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Stamp in 2026 (up 55%). Under both the Quality of Life Strategy 2033 and Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, there is an emphasis on supporting a better quality of life for those in Dubai, while The Dubai Longevity Authority positions Dubai as a global hub for longevity and wellness.

 

A Successful Arabian Travel Market

At the Arabian Travel Market this year there were over 300 hosted buyers on the ground from 40 different countries, alongside 40 travel trade media. After rescheduling three times, the success of this year’s ATM shows how important the travel trade is to the city and the larger region.

As the city becomes an international hotspot for tourism once more, Dubai wants to position itself as more than just a luxury destination: “We want to make sure that we maintain the standards that the global visitor expects when it comes to sustainability or when it comes to new niche segments like wellness, like sports, like longevity, like health tourism. In all areas Dubai, continues to develop. Whether it’s the launch of Primark to new hotels like the Mandarin Oriental and Ciel – the tallest hotel in the world – there are new openings everywhere you look in the city.”

 

What about Ireland?

Speaking to journalists at the private roundtable, Hoor Alkhaja emphasised the incredibly strong repeat visitations numbers that Dubai boasts at 25%. On the UK Market, Alkhaja pointed to how many clients had held on to bookings instead of cancelling and how the UK was one of the fastest markets to pick back up this summer.

ITTN’s Katie was arguably the only Irish travel trade person in attendance at this year’s ATM Dubai, reflecting the Irish Government’s decision to keep Dubai on the “non-essential travel” list. The UK, France and Germany don’t have travel warnings but advise a cautious approach. This decision obviously influences travel agents who can not market or sell Dubai to their customers as the country continues to deal with fear-mongering news reports when the situation on the ground is calm and thriving.

Katie had the opportunity to ask about this current situation, saying Wednesday: “I think I'm probably one of the only Irish people at ATM this year because Dubai is still on the non-essential travel list from Ireland. I'm wondering if you have any message to Irish travel agents and tour operators in Ireland that obviously cannot sell, travel or market Dubai right now. How are you supporting them as things develop and is there any way that you're leveraging the government side of the business to help open up the connection?”

“I'm sure there's lot of efforts being made on a G2G level in terms of dialogue, and that they’re going to move in positive directions,” Hoor Alkhaja responded, “But really, [what we want to say] to our partners and friends in Ireland is that we're here, we don't stop the work, we maintain the relationships. We don't cancel any contracts, we delay them to when they're appropriate, so we always commit to our partners and we honour them. And we're ready when you are. So, when the market is ready, we're open and we're here to welcome everyone.”