The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) will be unveiling new tourism industry initiatives at the 19th edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which will see a record 183 companies and government organizations joining it as co-participants of Dubai Stand.

The four-day fair is starting today at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The department will be utilizing the ATM-2012 as an ideal platform to showcase the best of Dubai’s tourism industry and how the tourism industry regulator has been working to enhance the performance and quality standards of the tourism industry in the emirate.

There has been a 29 per cent increase in the number of co-participants at Dubai Stand this year compared with the previous edition.

The department will be unveiling new programmes at the exhibition and will be hosting 204 tour operators and media representatives from 19 countries across the world. 

Among the co-participants are six government organisations, including Dubai Police, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA-Dubai), Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai Healthcare City and Ministry of Social Affairs and Community Development.

Dubai Stand will see 16 new co-participants- Aero Space Tourism, Dubai Camel Racing Club, Skylink Travels, Rixos Hotel, Peacock International Hotel, Balloon Adventures Emirates, Suha City Hotel, Europcar, Easy Booking Tourism, Royal Pamir Travels, Belhasa Travel, Hues Boutique Hotel, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Tropic International Tourism and Travel, Mount Royal Hotel and Montreal Hotel.

DTCM will be introducing to the tourism industry the new Hotel Classification Checklists for all categories as part of the new Classification Scheme.  Dubai has further consolidated its position on the world tourism map with its hotels and hotel apartments posting impressive all-round performance in hotel guest numbers, cruise passengers, revenues, guestnights and average length of stay.

Dubai hosted an impressive 9.30 million hotel guests and cruise passengers in 2011, up by 10 per cent compared with the previous year. Guestnights rose by 23 per cent to 32,848,190 while the average length of stay went up by 12 per cent to 3.6 days last year.  Dubai’s 575   hotel establishments generated revenues of AED16 billion last year, an increase of 20 per cent.  The year saw a five per cent increase in the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartment flats which stood at 53,828 rooms and 21,015 hotel flats.

DTCM will also be releasing the first quarter 2012 hotel sector performance report at the ATM-2012.

The department will also announce the winners of the Dubai Green Tourism Award programme during the ATM.