Tragento Report: Arabian Travel Market 2026 opens in Dubai
Arabian Travel Market opened its 33rd edition today at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This year's ATM is taking place under noticeably different circumstances than the record-breaking 2025 edition, following months of disruption in the region and two date changes. The fair appears somewhat more compact, but precisely for that reason, its holding carries additional weight for the Middle Eastern tourism market.
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) from 14th to 17th September is once again gathering tourist boards, airlines, hotel groups, DMCs, TMCs, buyers and technology companies from around the world. The theme of this year's edition is „Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology“, and a large part of the programme is dedicated to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, new distribution models and the resilience of the tourism sector.
ATM is different this year than it was in 2025.
Even on the first day, it is noticeable that this year's edition does not have the same sense of scale as ATM from record years. The exhibition space feels more compact, and it is difficult to view such a development outside of the events that have affected the entire region in recent months.
By comparison, ATM 2025 brought together more than 55,000 professionals from 166 countries and over 2,800 exhibiting companies. Attendance grew by 16 per cent compared to the previous year, and the organisers described the event as the largest edition in ATM's history.
For 2026, the organiser has not yet published final comparable data on the total number of exhibitors and visitors. The official online directory immediately prior to the trade fair listed around 1,400 exhibitor profiles, but this figure is not directly comparable with the official final statistics from 2025. Therefore, it would be premature to speak of a specific percentage drop.
However, the impression of a smaller edition is not unexpected.
Two schedule changes left their mark
ATM 2026 was originally scheduled to take place from 4 to 7 May. Due to the regional conflict, the organisers first moved it to August, citing the safety of participants as a priority. Following further consultations with exhibitors and partners, the dates were changed again, this time to 14 to 17 September.
Rescheduling a major international trade fair always has consequences. Companies plan budgets, stands, employee travel and meetings with buyers months in advance. When the date is changed twice, it is realistic to expect that some exhibitors and visitors will fail to reorganise their schedules.
Precisely for this reason, this year's ATM should be viewed in a somewhat different context. Following a period in which regional tensions affected flights, business travel and the calendar of major events in the Gulf, the return of one of the region's most important tourism exhibitions to Dubai sends a message of stabilisation in itself. In September, Dubai restarted its intensive calendar of major business events following disruptions earlier in the year.
In other words, ATM 2026 might not be an edition that will break records, but this year's figures are probably not even the best criterion for assessing its success.
Travel Tech is becoming a separate event
The biggest content-related change comes from the technology segment. ATM Travel Tech is being held for the first time as a separate, parallel event, with more than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries spread across two halls.
At its centre is a Tech & Innovation Hub spanning approximately 850 square metres, dedicated to artificial intelligence, VR and AR, robotics, fintech and green technologies. Representatives of companies such as Sabre, Trip.com, Tripadvisor, Wego, MakeMyTrip, RateGain and Visa are performing on the Future Stage.
That says a lot about the direction in which the ATM itself is changing. Technology is no longer an addition to the traditional tourism fair, but one of its main business pillars. Agentic AI solutions, the future of online travel agencies, digital product discovery and changes in the distribution chain will be specifically discussed.
For travel agencies, TMCs, airlines and hotels, these are topics that are already moving from the experimentation phase into concrete business decisions.
Fewer people does not automatically have to mean less work
For exhibitors and buyers, it will be interesting to see whether a somewhat smaller and more compact ATM will result in higher-quality business meetings. In recent years, large trade fairs have often tried to increase visitor numbers, whereas exhibitors are in practice more interested in how many relevant buyers they can meet over the course of a few days.
This year's edition therefore occupies a somewhat paradoxical position. Physically it may seem less impressive than the record-breaking ATM 2025, but it is taking place at a time when the Middle Eastern industry needs precisely what large B2B trade fairs do best: bringing partners back together around the same table, renewing contacts and showing the international market that business continues.
