With AI and innovative travel technology changing traveller expectations, we’re here to break down what to look out for when ATM 2026 returns to Dubai in just a few days time
The countdown to the return of the Arabian Travel Market is nearing its crescendo. The annual event that is a must attend for hospitality professionals will once again take over Dubai World Trade Centre from September 14th to 17th, for a showcase of destinations, hospitality brands, airlines, technology providers, and all things travel during its 33rd edition.
This year’s theme, “Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology”, puts technology firmly on the agenda, but the programme goes well beyond AI. Across the Global Stage, Future Stage, and Experience Hub, discussions will explore traveller behaviour, hospitality, aviation, investment, sustainability, business events, and everything in between.
For anyone working in travel, tourism, or communications, that makes ATM a busy few days on the industry calendar, as it offers a useful snapshot of where the sector is heading, and the ideas that will shape how destinations and brands speak to travellers next.
In our previous blog, we already touched on some of the things to expect at this year’s ATM, but read on to discover a little bit more about why this is such a must visit event.
AI moves from promise to practice
AI has been part of the travel conversation for some time. In fact, it has been one of the biggest topics of conversation in the world at large for the past few years. At ATM 2026, the focus is shifting towards what the technology can actually do. What it can add to experiences. What it can elevate to another level.
ATM Travel Tech makes its debut as a dedicated co-located event this year, hosting more than 180 exhibitors working across areas including artificial intelligence, robotics, immersive technology, fintech, and smart mobility. The Future Stage will explore how AI, automation, data, and digital platforms are moving into practical applications across the travel industry.
One of the more interesting developments is the shift towards agentic AI, where systems can move beyond making recommendations to taking action on behalf of travellers. Sabre, the official ATM Travel Tech Strategic Partner, is among the companies exploring what this could mean for everything from search and booking to servicing a journey.
The conversation will also feature Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, who will open the Future Stage with a session exploring AI’s role in reshaping the infrastructure, policy, and ecosystems underpinning travel.
For travel brands, the interesting question is quickly becoming how the technology will change the experience they offer, the way they operate, and the way they communicate with customers.
Experience remains at the heart of travel
Technology may dominate some of the headlines, but the traveller remains at the centre of the industry. Across ATM’s wider programme, changing guest expectations and experience-led travel are recurring themes. Hospitality brands are looking beyond the room itself, while destinations are increasingly building their propositions around food, wellness, culture, entertainment, and other experiences that give travellers a reason to choose one place over another.
Haitham Mattar, Managing Director MEA & South West Asia at IHG Hotels & Resorts, will be among the senior hospitality voices discussing how guest expectations and experience-led travel are influencing the sector.
That shift also has implications for communications. A destination or hotel can have a strong product, but the story around that product still needs to give travellers a reason to care. Increasingly, that means finding the experiences, people, places, and details that make a destination distinctive, then finding the right ways to bring them to life.
The data behind the next wave of travel
Alongside the big conversations about technology and experience, ATM will provide a closer look at the numbers behind the industry’s growth. On the Global Stage, Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, will present its annual travel trends report, “Middle East Momentum & Market Shifts”, examining where international travel demand is moving and what that could mean for the region.
Euromonitor International’s Stephen Dutton will also explore the wider travel environment in “The State of Travel: Inflation, Polycrisis & the New Travel Reality”, looking at the economic and geopolitical factors influencing travel decisions.
The Future Stage will offer another perspective, with BBC travel and technology broadcaster Nick Kwek hosting sessions on topics including changing traveller demographics and the return of Chinese outbound travel to the Middle East.
For destinations and travel brands, this kind of market intelligence matters because understanding where demand is moving is only half the equation. The next challenge is knowing how to position a destination, product, or experience in a way that feels relevant to the audiences driving that demand.
The people shaping the conversation
With more than 210 speakers and contributors from across the public and private sectors, there will be no shortage of perspectives at this year’s event.
H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, will take part in the opening Ministerial Debate, which will examine resilience, traveller confidence, global competitiveness, and the foundations for long-term tourism growth.
Schubert Lou, CEO of Trip.com, will join senior technology leaders to discuss how AI and accelerating innovation cycles are changing the competitive landscape for online travel platforms.
Rana Nawas, Corporate Strategist and Podcast Host, will lead a workshop at the Experience Hub exploring leadership and the future workforce, bringing the conversation back to the people behind the industry's technological and commercial transformation.
Together, these sessions offer a useful reminder that the future of travel won’t be shaped by one trend alone. Technology, economics, traveller behaviour, leadership, and experience are all moving at the same time.
Looking beyond the show floor
For us at Katch, ATM is also an opportunity to see those shifts play out in real time.
The most interesting stories can quite often be found in how destinations position themselves, how hospitality brands bring experiences to life, how technology is changing the traveller journey, and how the industry is responding to what audiences want next.
Members from our team will be at Dubai World Trade Centre throughout ATM, keeping an eye on the conversations shaping the sector, meeting clients and partners, and seeing what the next chapter of travel looks like on the ground.
Because for an industry built around experiences, there’s no substitute for seeing where it’s heading first-hand.
