Joao Cotrim de Figueiredo, president, Turismo de Portugal talks to Breaking Travel News on Day 1 at World Travel Market 2014.

The Grand Millennium Al Wahda team is due to meet its partners to intensify business relationship and promote the hotel brand to their key market and one of the best tourism feeders to UAE capital.

As day one of World Travel Market gets underway new figures have unveiled Dubai-based Arabian Travel Market generated over $2 billion worth of business deals at annual 2014 May event; total World Travel Market Portfolio contributes $6.5 billion of additional revenue to the global travel industry.

The appeal of Dubai as a leading family destination will be highlighted at World Travel Market 2014 (WTM) taking place this week in London, UK. A delegation of more than 100 partners from the Emirate’s tourism industry and led by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM),will showcase the breadth of Dubai’s offering across hotels, attractions and events to demonstrate why commitments from both government and the private sector to continually enhance the tourism experience has led to Dubai being recommended as a must-experiencedestination.

Two of the biggest social media brands - Buzzfeed and Twitter - are already confirmed as keynote speakers at World Travel Market 2014, the leading global event for the travel industry. Both companies are presenting as part of WTM Travel Perspective programme which will concentrate on social media and digital content as part of the standalone Travel Tech Show at WTM’s event programme.

Tourist boards, luxury operators, emerging destinations and technology specialists from a wide range of sectors and countries are among the 213 new exhibitors confirmed for World Travel Market 2014, the leading global event for the industry. Almost a quarter of the new businesses attending this year are in the Travel Tech Show at WTM, reflecting the success of last year’s inaugural show.