• Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), delivered the opening keynote on the Future Stage examining AI’s growing influence on travel infrastructure, governance and connected ecosystems.
• Keynote emphasised the need to integrate AI across destinations, airlines, hotels, government and wider travel ecosystems.
• The stage was officially opened by Rachel Travers, President, UK Hub at RX Global
• ATM 2026 is taking place from 14–17 September at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Dubai: Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2026 officially opened its Future Stage today, with industry leaders examining how artificial intelligence (AI) is moving beyond personalisation, chatbots and automated customer service to reshape the underlying systems on which the global travel industry operates.

Located within the Tech & Innovation Hub at the newly launched ATM Travel Tech, Rachel Travers, President, UK Hub at RX Global, officially opened the Future Stage and welcomed attendees to four days of discussions on the technologies, ideas and innovations transforming the global travel industry.

Following the opening, Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), delivered the first keynote, “AI’s True Role in Rewriting the Travel Landscape,” examining how AI is reshaping travel discovery and the systems and partnerships supporting the industry.

As travellers increasingly turn to AI platforms for inspiration, research and recommendations, Dr Alzarouni highlighted the implications for destinations and the growing importance of ensuring tourism information can be accurately discovered and interpreted by AI-powered platforms.

He said: “Traditional search rankings are no longer enough. As travellers turn to AI for answers, we have to make sure Dubai is not only visible, but represented with timely, accurate and authoritative information across our entire tourism ecosystem. Where we find gaps, we treat them first as content and discoverability challenges, not just technology issues.”

Beyond discovery, the keynote explored the need to move away from isolated applications of AI towards greater integration across the travel ecosystem. As the technology becomes increasingly embedded in planning, operations and distribution, collaboration between destinations, airlines, hotels, government and technology partners will be critical to unlocking its wider potential.

Dr Alzarouni added: “You cannot use AI in silos. The real value comes when you integrate AI across your partners and your systems so that destinations, airlines, hotels, and government all move together. That is how you turn AI ambition into practical solutions that reshape travel.”

The message reflected a wider shift in the industry’s AI conversation, from individual applications such as personalisation and customer service towards how the technology can improve connectivity, efficiency and decision-making across the wider travel ecosystem.

Danielle Curtis, Regional Portfolio Director – UAE, RX Global, said: “The conversation around AI in travel is evolving incredibly quickly. We have moved beyond asking how individual businesses can use AI to improve a particular part of the traveller journey. The bigger question now is what happens when AI becomes embedded within the infrastructure and ecosystems that support travel itself.

“That shift has significant implications for destinations, airlines, hospitality businesses, technology providers and policymakers. It requires us to think about governance, connectivity, data and collaboration, as well as the technology itself. .”

Elsewhere on the opening day, “Decoding Hospitality Growth – What Do Today’s Travellers Want?” examined how hotels are responding to increasingly multi-motivated travellers, while Sienna Parulis-Cook, Director of Marketing & Communications at Dragon Trail International, presented new research on the return of Chinese outbound tourism during “Welcoming Back the Chinese Traveller: Marketing Insights for the Middle East.”

AI will remain a key focus throughout the day. “Winning the Discovery Layer” explored how AI agents, conversational search and autonomous trip planning are reshaping travel discovery and booking, while “AI vs Human: What It Really Means to Be a Professional in the Age of Intelligence” examined how automation is redefining professional expertise and the value of human judgement, creativity and decision-making.

Located within the Tech & Innovation Hub, the Future Stage is a central part of ATM Travel Tech, which debuted this year as a dedicated, co-located show. More than 180 exhibitors from 30 countries are participating across two dedicated halls, while the 850sqm Tech & Innovation Hub is showcasing developments spanning AI, VR and AR, robotics, fintech and green technologies.

The programme supports the wider ATM 2026 theme, Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology, and examines how technological transformation, changing traveller expectations, and greater industry collaboration are shaping the next era of global tourism.