Experts gathered on the new Business Events Stage through the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, half of the newly launched IBTM@ATM Zone, to focus on how regional business travel spending is adapting in response to these international shifts and to discover the monetary outlook driving strategic developments throughout the sector.
In partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the session titled State of the Nation: Navigating the Future of Business Travel in the Middle East offered a radical evaluation of the market dynamics influencing company travel budgets and decision-making processes right now.
Catherine Logan, Regional Senior Vice President EMEA and APAC, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), mentioned: “In general, the argument for business travel in 2025 is strong, but transformational change will continue to influence how we travel for work around the world. These include economic stability, budget factors, how and where we work, implications of technology, the evolution of sustainability in business travel and the focus on the traveller.”
Logan additionally highlights that sustainably managed business travel is a power for good, driving progress for companies, governments, economies and folks.
According to the 2024 GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook Report, the Middle East accounts for 1.2% of international business travel spend and has carried out higher than another area post-COVID with spend reaching 19.4% increased than pre-COVID ranges. The estimated business travel spending in the Middle East was $18.1 billion in 2024 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% in 2025, highlighting the area’s strategic significance in the worldwide company travel and occasions ecosystem.
Ciaran Kelly, Managing Director of Middle East & Africa, FCM Travel, mentioned: “There is a positive outlook for business travel in the region, backed by trends we are seeing from our customers, surveys, and what our forecasts are for the year ahead. A lot of the growth is due to the public and private projects taking place – it is almost impossible to get a seat on a plane from Dubai to Riyadh, for example, and once you land, hotel availability is limited. Hotel occupancy across the region is the highest globally, around 70-80% mark putting a lot of pressure on hotels, but in general, everything is positive.”
Reflecting on the importance of the session, Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, mentioned: “Understanding the shifts in business travel spending is essential for companies that want to remain competitive and resilient in a fast-evolving market. Sessions like this at IBTM@ATM are crucial for providing our attendees with actionable insights and real-world analysis, empowering them to navigate shifting travel patterns and discover new opportunities in the Middle East and beyond.”
The Business Events Stage at IBTM@ATM will proceed to discover rising traits throughout business travel, MICE, and company occasions till Wednesday, 30 April. The classes will cowl numerous matters, together with the mixing of AI and future-proofing methods for business travel, the human connection versus AI in occasion experiences, new traits in Chinese outbound MICE travel, reaching web zero carbon emissions in the occasions trade, and advancing local weather motion by strategic partnerships in business travel, amongst different matters.
The 32nd version of Arabian Travel Market, held beneath the theme ‘Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow’s Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity’, will welcome greater than 55,000 travel professionals from 166 international locations this week on the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), reinforcing Dubai’s pivotal function as a centre for international tourism and business collaboration.
Held in conjunction with DWTC, ATM’s strategic companions embody Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Destination Partner; Emirates, Official Airline Partner; IHG Hotels & Resorts, Official Hotel Partner; and Al Rais Travel, Official DMC Partner.
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