Arabian Travel Market opens tomorrow at Dubai World Trade Centre. The organiser’s release dates the 33rd edition 14 to 17 September 2026, under the theme “Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology”. For a travel-tech reader the story is not the show. It is ATM Travel Tech, the new show inside it.

ATM Travel Tech debuts this year as its own event, co-located within ATM, with more than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries in two halls. Here are the five things a hotel, airline, OTA or travel-tech leader should know before deciding whether to fly to Dubai this week. Every fact comes from the release issued on behalf of RX Global on 13 September.

1. ATM Travel Tech: 180 exhibitors, two halls

Travel technology gets its own floor at ATM for the first time. More than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries fill two halls set aside for the show. Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director for UAE at RX Global, called this year significant for “the debut of ATM Travel Tech and an expanded focus on innovation”. Why it matters: a buyer who once hunted for vendors between hotel and tourism board stands finds them in one place, and two halls is a day of walking on its own.

2. The Tech and Innovation Hub: 850sqm of demos

At the centre of the new show sits a hub of 850sqm. The demos cover five areas: AI, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, fintech and green technology. Why it matters: five categories on one floor is a faster way to see what is shipping than five separate vendor calls, and the hub also houses the Future Stage.

3. The Future Stage: seven platforms on agentic AI

Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, opens the Future Stage with a session on how AI is reshaping travel. The programme then puts senior people from Sabre, Trip.com, Tripadvisor, Wego, MakeMyTrip, RateGain and Visa on stage to look at agentic AI, where online travel agencies go next, investment and consolidation, digital discovery and the travel supply chain. The sessions run under six themes, from AI and automation to robotics and next-generation travel platforms. Why it matters: a GDS, two of Asia’s largest OTAs, a metasearch engine, a hotel revenue platform and a card network on one stage is the closest thing to a live reading of where distribution goes next.

4. The Global Stage: ministers on traveller confidence

The conference runs across four days and three venues: the Global Stage, the Future Stage and the Experience Hub. The Global Stage opens with a ministerial debate on collaboration and how the GCC can rebuild traveller confidence. The release names H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, and H.E. Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary General of UN Tourism, with Fatima Jaafar Al Sairafi and Apostolos Tzitzikostas listed alongside them. Four research houses present during the week: Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, Euromonitor International, STR and Dragon Trail International. Why it matters: four sets of demand numbers in one week is the quickest route to the figures a 2027 budget needs.

5. A new brand and open registration

ATM 2026 arrives with a new brand identity, which the organiser reads as the move from an exhibition to a platform that runs all year. Registration is open, with separate routes for media, visitors and exhibitors on the ATM website. Curtis added that the industry’s recent challenges have made the case for meeting in person stronger. Why it matters: a year-round platform is the organiser’s signal that contacts made this week are meant to carry past Thursday.

For organisers

The Future Stage line-up is strong on platforms and thin on operators. All seven companies named on the programme sell technology or payments. Agentic AI, digital discovery and the supply chain are each examined by the firms that build the tools, with no hotel group, airline or DMC named in the release to say what the technology looks like in a live operation. TravHQ covers that gap from India and the wider APAC market and is available to moderate or speak on it. Media registration for 2026 is open, and the desk will be reading the Future Stage sessions closely this week.

Key takeaway

If the decision is whether to fly, the two halls of ATM Travel Tech and the 850sqm hub are reason enough for anyone buying or selling travel technology into the GCC or APAC this year. Book the Future Stage sessions on agentic AI and the future of OTAs first, then walk the halls. We would treat the Ministerial Debate as context and the hub demos as the work.

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