The Middle East region's popularity as a holiday destination continues to grow as it was among the top areas of interest at WTM London 2017.

Last year, the region hosted a total of 75,326 on-stand meetings with more than 6,700 industry professionals, meaning each of the 309 exhibitors had an average of 243 on-stand meetings.

Of the 10,500 buyers at WTM London from the WTM Buyers’ Club, more than 2,800 (2,803 buyers) attended to conduct business with Middle Eastern exhibitors.

The UAE was the most popular destination with 2,159 buyers looking to buy product from the country, with Bahrain (610 buyers) and other countries gaining interest as well.

In total, WTM London 2017 experienced 935,129 on stand meetings helping the event generate more than £3.1 billion in industry deals.

Looking ahead, WTM London will be working to further increase regional focus by introducing Regional Inspiration Zones. These zones will be the centre point of the regions and will act as an ideas hotbed for debate, research and analysis of the regions tourism industry.

The Inspiration Zones will host content sessions, networking events, festivals. Some of the confirmed sessions on the Middle East Inspiration Zones include a dedicated session around Halal tourism and food tourism.

WTM London, senior director, Simon Press, said: “WTM London is effectively eight shows under one roof. WTM attracts 50,000 delegates from 182 countries and regions generating £3.1 billion in industry deals. The Middle East region at WTM facilitates more than 75,000 meetings with more than 6,000 delegates interested in Middle East countries.”

The Middle East received 58 million tourists in 2017, according to the UNWT0, a 5 per cent increase on the previous 12 months, and hopes to further increase arrivals by showcasing its tourism credentials at leading travel trade events such as WTM London.

WTM London 2018 will take place from November 5-7 at ExCeL London. - TradeArabia News Service