(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The ongoing effects of the eurozone crisis has prompted popular Mediterranean destinations to target growth opportunities in GCC markets at the Arabian Travel Market, or ATM, which is reporting a sell-out show ahead of next month's 20th anniversary event.
The latest statistics from ATM organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions reveal that demand from new exhibitors at the ATM, which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 6 to 9, has pushed show floor space to a record of over 22,000sqm, a six per cent increase over last year. In addition there are 27 more exhibition stands than last year, up seven per cent and an impressive 98 new companies covering over 2,160sqm that will be exhibiting.
In terms of vertical sectors, technology continued to grow again this year, up 34 per cent to 1,700sqm as digital industry trends gather pace. Geographically, two of the best-performing regions were Europe and North Africa. Each region has grown by 20 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, to cover almost 4,000sqm combined, or 18 per cent of the total exhibition space available, as hotels and resorts on the Mediterranean coast in particular, look for a larger share of the GCC outbound market.
"Exhibitor demand from 
countries on the Mediterranean coast, have been particularly strong this year as the tourism industries in Turkey, Morocco and Egypt turn their attention to the outbound GCC market," said Mark Walsh, portfolio director at Reed Travel Exhibitions.
"GCC travellers with their high disposable income levels are naturally a key target market for Mediterranean destinations, but with traditional Western European source markets facing tough economic challenges, which could cause tourism receipts to decline, the relevance of the GCC markets becomes even more pronounced," he added.
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