Oman Air was once again delighted at participating in the Arabian Travel Market exhibition this year, which is clearly the region's premier travel and tourism event. Oman Air's stall reflected the carrier's commitment to quality and service, and drew a large number of visitors, including government officials, major tour operators, partners and customers at large. Travel industry chiefs who took part in ATM remained optimistic about the industry's continued growth, despite the difficult global economic environment that prevailed during the global financial crisis and the slow and uneven recovery that is beginning to consolidate. They stated that prospects for the region as a whole look promising, with various aspects of recovery becoming more evident in many sectors in the first quarter of this year.
Philippe Georgiou, Chief Officer for Corporate Affairs and official spokesperson for Oman Air, acknowledged that important business visitors visited Oman Air’s stand. “We have received a positive amount of enquiries,” he said. “The event has enabled us to successfully raise awareness of our product offerings, as well as promote our new destinations for 2010. We efficiently took the opportunity of the show and highlighted our long-term commitment to growth, destination expansion and product development. The showcase of our premium products and services did display the high quality of the end-to-end unique travel experience we offer our customers across our rapidly expanding network.” Georgiou concluded saying: “Just having an important presence at ATM has a positive impact, furthermore enhancing our brand presence and exposure, also facilitating our reach to an expanding number of customers, partners and other stakeholders alike.”
One of the highlights of the event was CEO Peter Hill's participation in a dedicated panel during ATM 2010. The discussion, entitled “The Sky Is The Limit” focused on the gulf aviation issues. The airline debate, brought to light extensive views by the panelists, who represented their airlines on the subject.
Unquestionably, Oman Air’s vision remains to play a vital role in attracting visitors, both business travellers and discerning tourists, into Oman. The National Carrier’s participation alongside the Ministry of Tourism this year comes as an extension to the success of previous participations, and aims to introduce the Sultanate as a competitive, yet distinctive, tourism destination.
ATM, which continuously served as a catalyst for business opportunities within the travel and tourism industry, is designed to ignite discussion and debate, create networking opportunities, as well as educate. The event witnessed this year a number of programmes that enhanced the event’s knowledge-sharing capabilities, including expanded seminars, Travel Agents Day and Consumer & Careers Day. The show also saw delegations, led by senior government ministers, from a host of international and Middle East nations and states.
Arabian Travel Market was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and under the auspices of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai.
