ATM launches 2016 exhibitor awards

Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016 exhibitors will have more than business on their minds at this year’s event as organiser, Reed Travel Exhibitions, reprises its Best Stand Awards initiative at the annual industry showcase.

Launched in 2015, the awards were created to recognise the design creativity and business-friendly appeal of exhibiting companies’ physical presence at ATM.

The five categories this year cover Best Stand Design, Best Stand for Doing Business, Best Stand Personnel, Best Stand Feature and Best Stand within the Travel Tech Show at ATM, and will be judged by a line-up of top industry and design professionals, such as Leo Fewtrell, Dubai Travel and Tour Agents Group (DTTAG); Fiona McAndrew-Sharp, TTN; Nick Hall, Digital Think Tank and Bruce Martin, Ginger Juice.

Judging will take place on Tuesday 26th April with the winners unveiled during a photo session on the show floor the following day, and shared to a global audience via ATM’s social media platforms.

“Last year’s inaugural awards were extremely well received by our exhibitors and we are looking forward to seeing new ideas and even more creativity on the show floor this year. These awards reflect the huge effort, investment and thought that go into creating and manning exhibitor space that is a microcosm of a brand,” said Nadege Noblet-Segers, Exhibition Manager, Arabian Travel Market.

 “With more than 412 stands of all shapes and sizes spread across 10 exhibition halls covering the full spectrum of the industry, from travel tech companies, cruise operators and spa and wellness resorts to international destinations, corporate hotel groups, airlines and car rental companies, our judging panel has a lot of ground to cover,” added Noblet-Segers.

The judging criteria for the Best Stand Design award will focus on identifying an eye-catching stand that has an unusual/creative design, and makes the best use of available space. It also needs to look inviting from a visitor perspective and have outstanding presence in the halls, attracting high levels of visitor traffic.

The winner of the Best Stand for Doing Business will need to create a busy B2B atmosphere and present a well-planned and easily navigable layout with a good presentation of the stand and its services rendering it a clear winner.

“It’s not only about the aesthetics of a stand. The award for Best Stand Personnel is extremely important, hospitality is a ‘people’ business after all,” remarked Noblet.

Standout design will also be recognized with the Best Stand Feature award, which will recognize the stand with the most visual impact and good use of features to showcase cultural characteristics and draw in visitors.

The final award in the professionally judged categories is the Most Innovative stand within the Travel Tech Show at ATM, and this category was created to specifically highlight the importance of technology to the industry and reward those exhibitors with a tech focus.

ATM 2016 will build on the success of this year’s edition with the announcement of an additional hall as Reed Travel Exhibitions looks to add to its record-breaking achievements last year. ATM 2015 witnessed a year-on-year visitor attendance increase of 15% to over 27,000, with exhibiting companies increasing by 5% to 2,873. Business deals worth more than US$2.5 billion were signed over the four days.