From Sheikh Mohammed’s record tourism figures to the debut of ATM Travel Tech and seven Emirates partnership deals, Day 1 of Arabian Travel Market 2026 did not hold back.
- ATM 2026 opened September 14 at Dubai World Trade Centre under the theme Travel 2040
- Sheikh Mohammed confirmed Dubai welcomed 7 million tourists and 21 million hotel nights in 2026
- Emirates signed seven MoUs with tourism boards from Seychelles to Finland on Day 1
- ATM Travel Tech made its full debut with over 180 exhibitors from 30 countries
ATM 2026 in Dubai opened its doors yesterday, September 14, and the energy inside Dubai World Trade Centre had the specific quality that only returns when an entire industry gets back in the same room after a long time apart. The 33rd edition of Arabian Travel Market brought together tourism authorities, airlines, hotel groups, technology companies, travel buyers and industry professionals from 80 countries, running under the theme Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology. Day 1 delivered exactly what the theme promised: big numbers, significant partnerships, a major technology debut and a very clear signal about where the global travel industry believes it is going next.
The regional context is worth stating plainly. The travel industry is emerging from nearly seven months of disruption following the US-Iran conflict, and ATM 2026 represents one of the first major opportunities for the global travel community to meet in person, re-establish commercial relationships and look forward rather than back. That sense of hopefulness was palpable from the first hour on the show floor, with representatives from Emirates and Etihad among those welcoming guests in force and Miral signalling major announcements still to come over the remaining three days of the event.
Sheikh Mohammed Opens ATM With Record Tourism Numbers
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited Arabian Travel Market 2026 on the opening day alongside Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, touring the show and meeting with global tourism and hospitality leaders. Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that Dubai welcomed around 7 million tourists during the first eight months of 2026, with the emirate recording 21 million hotel room bookings over the same period. He highlighted Dubai’s generosity, diversity and vitality as key qualities supporting its appeal to international visitors and reaffirmed the emirate’s commitment to strengthening its position among the world’s leading tourism destinations.
Those numbers, delivered in person at the world’s most significant regional travel event, set the tone for everything that followed. Dubai is not retreating from tourism ambition. It is accelerating.
Emirates Signs Seven Tourism Deals on Day One
On the opening day of ATM 2026, Emirates confirmed seven tourism agreements covering the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Sharjah, Malaysia, Finland and Fjord Norway. The agreements are designed to strengthen destination promotion across Emirates’ global network, which serves nearly 140 destinations. The breadth of the partnerships, spanning the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Europe and the UAE itself, reflects the airline’s strategy of connecting Dubai’s tourism ecosystem to destinations that can generate two-way traffic rather than simply one-directional visitor flows.
For the travel industry professionals gathered at Dubai World Trade Centre, Emirates signing seven MoUs on the first morning of a four-day event is a clear declaration of intent. More announcements are expected across the remaining days of ATM.
ATM Travel Tech Makes Its Full Debut
ATM Travel Tech made its full debut at ATM 2026 with more than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries across two halls. The dedicated co-located show is new for 2026 and represents a significant expansion of ATM’s technology footprint, supported by an 850-square-metre Tech and Innovation Hub covering artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, fintech and green technologies.
The new Future Stage opened with a keynote from Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO of AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. Discussions focused on AI moving beyond personalisation and chatbots to reshape core industry systems, governance, data, connectivity and collaboration. The message from the Future Stage was consistent and clear: AI is no longer an optional feature layer sitting on top of existing travel systems. It is becoming the infrastructure of the industry itself, and destinations and operators that fail to build toward it now will find themselves structurally disadvantaged within the decade the Travel 2040 theme is pointing toward.
Ministerial Focus on Resilience
A high-level ministerial debate on Day 1 examined how governments and the private sector can work together to build resilience into travel and tourism systems that proved vulnerable during the disruptions of the past year. The conversation reflected the broader mood of ATM 2026, which is less about celebrating growth and more about building the foundations for sustainable, connected and technologically capable tourism that can absorb shocks without collapsing.
Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director at RX Global, said the industry had faced its share of challenges in recent months, reinforcing the value of bringing the travel community together in person.
ATM 2026 runs until September 17 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Days 2, 3 and 4 are expected to deliver further major announcements from Miral, Etihad and a range of global tourism authorities. Watch this space!
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