Organised under the theme Driving The Halal Tourism Revolution, the multi-faceted event will include an exhibition with over 230 exhibitors and sponsors and more than 6,000 delegates and trade visitors, including at a 1,000-seat conference that is expected to host keynote sessions, panel discussions, a ministerial debate and 150 presentations from 70 international speakers.
“The halal tourism market is booming with analysts saying it now represents 13% of the global market,” said WHTS15 Events Manager Hosam Moustafa in a statement at the end of 2014. “A recent Muslim travel report, released by the consultancy DinarStandard and rating agency Crescent Rating, projects that until at least 2020, Muslim international tourism will increase faster than conventional tourism – 4.79% versus 3.8%. At that point, overall annual spending for international Muslim tourism is expected to reach US$192 billion and these figures don’t even include estimated Hajj and umrah expenditures.
“The time is right for an event of this size and scope to address the needs of this vast international sector and Abu Dhabi, with its award-winning ADNEC and event facilities in the heart of this market, is an ideal venue and host.”
WHTS15 is being brought to the UAE capital by organiser Cacti Events with the support of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau – the dedicated business events promotion arm of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).
“Many Muslim majority markets are now fast emerging economies, with higher than average population growth rates supported by a young demographic,” said Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi. “Against this background, expenditure by halal tourists is expected to rise more than 6% per annum for the foreseeable future, which is almost double global industry growth.
“With Abu Dhabi now specifically targeting the halal tourism sector with segment-specific accommodation and product, the staging of this event in the UAE capital will put the spotlight on our offering and ambitions.”
WHTS15 is expected to draw high profile international attendance from government delegations, tourism associations, market-leading private sector operators and leading financiers funding Islamic tourism projects.
“WHTS15 is a major opportunity for tourism bodies, private tourism companies and professionals interested in developing business models in the halal travel space – perhaps the single most important meeting of the decade for this sector,” added Moustafa.
“More than 60 countries will be represented at WHTS15, with many exhibiting and others contributing presentations and speakers to the conference sessions.”
WHTS15 will focus on intra-tourism between the 57 members states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the United Nations with a membership spread over four continents.
Keynote conference sessions will focus on practical applications to increase intra-OIC tourism productivity – innovative technologies, capacity building and entrepreneurship, the role of the private sector and the way that local bodies can quickly adopt and adapt the best international thinking.
In addition to the Summit, WHTS15 will host a half-day high-level Dialogue on 19 October for Muslim majority tourism policy makers, influencers and key industry leaders to identify and engage on impending and future tourism initiatives. Admission is by invitation only, with enquiries to be directed to visitors@cactievents.com.
TCA Abu Dhabi has adopted a halal travel strategy which has seen it engage with four Abu Dhabi hotels, namely the One-To-One The Village; the Ayla Hotel Al Ain, the Hala Arjaan by Rotana and Al Rawda Arjaan Hotel by Rotana in Abu Dhabi city, which are all listed on www.halalbooking com.
“We can meet specific Muslim demands on a number of fronts – halal F&B is one, another is specific segmented family product and specific product segmented for use by the different genders. We also have a number of high and medium quality alcohol-free hotels and segmented sessions for females at mainline attractions,” explained Al Dhaheri.
“Some of our operators are also realising the potential of the market – one example is Captain Tony’s dhow boat cruises, which offer ladies-only tours of the Corniche. Ladies-only sessions are also available at our Yas Waterworld aqua park and on Wednesday nights at Yas Marina Circuit there is a whole evening of sports and activities training for ladies.
“Of course, a visit to our Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque would be an essential on any halal tourism agenda. In addition, Abu Dhabi as a wealth of world-class restaurants and eateries where guests can enjoy international cuisine all prepared to halal standards.”
Al Dhaheri says halal travel will become more prominent in its destination promotion in terms of exposure and quality of product offering.
“We envisage receiving increasing numbers from this segment particularly given that Abu Dhabi serves as a hub for traffic transiting from East to West and vice versa. We can link the highly populous Muslim countries of the East to the West and those in the opposite direction via Abu Dhabi International Airport and we hope that many will choose to break their journey in the emirate and eventually become convinced to stay longer."
Register to attend here.