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Arabian Travel Market 2025: The power of human and spiritual connection

Arabian Travel Market, Dubai

UAE – Day two of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025 continued to spotlight the future of global tourism with a strong focus on human, cultural and spiritual connection.

In a keynote entitled Journeys That Shape Us: The New Power of Connection, Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, outlined Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategy. The country, already the largest tourism investor in the world with over £595bn ($800bn, €700bn) committed, is spearheading mega-projects and building infrastructure to rival global hubs (source: PhocusWire). Hamidaddin reminded the audience: ‘No matter what we’ve achieved so far, we’re only just beginning.’ He emphasised that ‘authenticity is part of our DNA’ and that the most profound travel experiences come from human connection: ‘The first connection in travel is human, it’s not just about what you see, but about how deeply it transforms you.’

He stressed the importance of spiritual and religious travel to the region’s tourism market. As the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia offers a spiritual resonance in every corner. Hamidaddin also said that Madinah has been ranked the world’s safest city for solo female travellers after midnight for two consecutive years and Dubai has been named safest city for women travelling solo in 2025 (source: TravelsDubai, The Siasat Daily).

Later, Dave Goodger, managing director EMEA of Tourism Economics (an Oxford Economics company), contextualised this within wider global trends. Using data provided by Tourism Economics, he noted that more than 85% of The Middle East’s tourism growth will come from international visitors. Saudi Arabia attracted a record 18.5m pilgrims in 2024, with 16.9m for Umrah and 1.6m for Hajj (source: Welcome Saudi). He added that leisure travel, which includes religious visits, now accounts for 69% of Saudi Arabia’s international tourism, compared to a global average of 38%.

Goodger also outlined key demographic shifts indicating that travellers to the Middle East are younger, wealthier, more interested in niche adventure and luxury experiences, and more than three times as likely to seek luxury compared to the global average. They are also twice as likely to use chatbots or AI virtual assistants when planning trips.

Explore our newly released report, Sacred Sojourns, to delve more deeply into the booming religious and spiritual tourism market.

Strategic opportunity

As travellers prioritise meaningful, human and spiritual connection, brands should move beyond surface-level experiences to curate immersive, transformative encounters – from sacred journeys to culturally rooted rituals that have an emotional impact

ChatGPT expands into e-commerce

Global – OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT’s capabilities with new in-chat shopping features designed to streamline the online purchase journey. From 28 April 2025, users worldwide will be able to search for fashion, beauty, home and tech products directly through the AI chatbot, receiving image-led product recommendations, pricing comparisons and retailer links within the chat window.

Unlike traditional search engines or sponsored social ads, these product suggestions are selected by ChatGPT based on user intent, not paid placements. OpenAI positions this as a new, trusted format for ‘conversational shopping’.

The AI will also save individual preferences over time to personalise future recommendations – although this won’t be launched in stricter privacy markets such as the UK and EEA initially. With plans to onboard retailers via a product feed interest form, OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as a direct-to-consumer marketplace alternative, compressing the research, review and purchase phases into one seamless interaction.

In EQ-Commerce, we unpacked how AI chatbots have ushered in a new era of conversational commerce and foresaw the importance of chatbots and conversational engagement for the future of e-commerce.

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

Strategic opportunity

Position your brand for the next wave of conversational commerce by exploring partnerships with AI platforms and chat-based marketplaces. Develop seamless, in-chat retail experiences that prioritise convenience, discovery and frictionless purchasing for hyper-connected consumers

Stat: American Gen Z are more optimistic about finances than their elders

GoHenry, UK

US – Young people are surprisingly optimistic about their personal finances, reveals new data from the NBC News Stay Tuned Poll, powered by SurveyMonkey. Despite ongoing economic challenges, 27% of Gen Z adults report that their financial situation has improved over the past year – more than any other generation surveyed.

But the study highlights stark differences in Gen Z’s views on societal issues. While 74% believe diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts are beneficial to the country, there are sharp gender gaps: 85% of young women support DEI initiatives compared to 63% of men. Attitudes to immigration and gender roles also differ, with 92% of Gen Z valuing due process protections for visa holders, but 41% of young men back more traditional gender roles for women.

Overall, the findings reveal a generation navigating optimism about their own prospects while remaining deeply split along gender and political lines. For more insights on Gen Z’s attitudes to money and values, read our Gen Z’s New Value System report.

Strategic opportunity

Amid financial optimism, Gen Z may be more willing to spend than the common narrative of them as anxious, debt-laden or minimalist consumers suggests. Consider how to offer entry-level luxury, affordable premium goods or aspirational upgrades to match their growing confidence