The decision was taken to recognise exhibiting organisations that have considered the impact that their stand will have on the environment and the efforts they have made to reduce and or offset their carbon footprint.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “We are aware of the incredible amount of effort and investment that goes into designing, building and manning exhibition stands at Arabian Travel Market. Since its inception, the ATM exhibitor award programme has not only recognised those efforts, but has also encouraged exciting, fresh and creative ideas. For our 2023 event, we wanted to include a category that provided synergy with our official theme, ‘Working Towards Net Zero’ and furthermore one that supports the UAE’s broader net zero commitment as well as RX’s mission to deliver Net Zero Carbon events by 2040. The sustainability award will be open to all exhibitors who can nominate themselves with a justification against certain criteria that will be clearly laid out in the ATM operations manual.”

The criteria will include the use of bio-degradable, reusable and recyclable materials for the stand build and features, digital marketing materials, limited single use plastics, reduced freight and logistics emissions, waste management, as well as recycling and or reusing the stand for multiple events, plus carbon offsetting initiatives.

The award will be judged in advance of the show by the ATM operations team, with advice and support from an independent sustainability expert and the winner will be announced onsite along with the other award category winners. These will include Best Stand Design, Best Stand for Doing Business, Best Stand Feature and Best Stand at ATM Travel Tech.  

The Best Stand Design award has also been revamped and is now more inclusive with two awards, one for stands above and one for those less than 150 square metres. For stands over 150 square metres ATM has added additional criteria that will consider pre-show and onsite promotions to attract visitors.

The judging for these awards will take place as usual on day two of the show with all winners announced on day three, with a panel comprising of trade journalists and industry commentators.