Arabian Travel Market (ATM) will build its 2027 edition around experience-led tourism, after its own research found travellers are choosing what they want to do before deciding where to go.
The 34th edition of the Dubai trade show runs from 3 to 6 May 2027 at Dubai World Trade Centre under the theme “Travel without boundaries: Shaping global travel through experience”. Sessions will look at how shifting traveller motivations are changing tourism products, destination strategy and commercial opportunities.
The theme draws on the ATM Travel Trends Report 2026, produced with Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics. It found 56% of consumers are keener to explore new destinations than they were two years ago, rising to 68% among prospective visitors to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA).
Half of consumers said they were more interested in local food and drink, 40% in meeting local people and 30% in travelling for events. The report says culture, gastronomy, adventure, wellness, music and sport are increasingly driving trips, with a restaurant or a sporting fixture becoming the reason to visit a city. That gives hotels and operators room to sell packages, add-on services and partnerships with local providers.
“Travellers are looking more closely at what a journey allows them to experience, whether that is discovering a culture, pursuing a passion or sharing something memorable with the people around them,” said Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director – UAE at RX Global, which organises ATM. “For destinations and businesses, the opportunity is to understand those motivations and build an offering that gives people a compelling reason to visit.”
She added that the same trip can now combine “business and leisure, wellness and adventure, or premium experiences and everyday value”.
The programme will run under four strands: experience, opportunity, innovation and possibility, each framed as “without boundaries”. They will cover changing travel motivations, emerging commercial openings, technology across the journey and collaboration between sectors.
The co-located ATM Travel Tech show returns with more than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries across two halls. An 850 sq m Tech & Innovation Hub will demonstrate artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, fintech and green technology, while the Future Stage will host sessions on AI, immersive commerce, cybersecurity and sustainability. The report notes AI’s growing role in trip planning alongside the continued value of local guides, hosts and communities.
Tourism Economics expects international arrivals to grow 8% worldwide in 2027 and 17% across MENASA as travel recovers from this year’s disruption. By 2030 it forecasts more than 29bn visitor nights worldwide, domestic and international combined, with US$10tn spent in destinations. The same report forecast a $116bn rise in Middle East visitor spending by 2030.
The Global Stage and Future Stage will host debates on traveller expectations, emerging markets and tourism innovation, and the Experience Hub returns for roundtables and networking.
Source: Arabian Travel Market press release, Dubai, 21 October 2026.
