Sharjah promotes Emirate's museums at ATM 2013

With the participation of 2,690 exhibitors from across the world, ATM is one of the top international travel and tourism events.

SMD is making use of this opportunity to promote its 16 museums and introduce their unique cultural offerings to both the participants and visitors to ATM 2013, with its stand already having received an overwhelming response from travel and tourist agencies from all over the world.

Commenting on SMD's participation, Manal Ataya, Director General of the Sharjah Museums Department, said, "The Arabian Travel Market is one of the most important international travel and tourism platforms that offers us a great opportunity to promote our 16 museums and their significant historical, heritage, scientific and cultural value to the Emirate, the UAE and region, which makes Sharjah such an exceptional destination for a wide range of tourists from across the region and the whole world."

Ataya added, "SMD's success in its mission of promoting the Emirate's museums and their diverse collections, hosting international exhibitions and organizing various events throughout the year has resulted in an impressive increase in the number of visitors, which exceeded 200,000 in the first quarter of the current year."

During its participation in ATM 2013, SMD is collaborating with City Sightseeing's Sharjah the tour bus operator that allows tourists to visit the Emirate's most prominent sites and tourist landmarks in Sharjah, including a number of SMD's museums, namely the Sharjah Maritime Museum, Sharjah Aquarium, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, as well as the museums situated in the Heart of Sharjah and Heritage areas.

SMD is also showcasing the Russian version of its museums guide, which was recently released on the sidelines of its participation at the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT 2013).

The guide gives an overview of all of SMD's museums and includes brief information about each museum, its location, and visiting hours. The Museums Department will also organise tours of its museums for the travel and tourist companies with whom they met during their various participations in travel and tourism exhibitions earlier this year.

SMD's participation comes in line with its strategy of widely promoting its numerous activities and museums through participations in major international tourism exhibitions. To this effect the Department participated in the International Travel Bourse (ITB 2013), which was held in Germany last March, and the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT 2013).

In keeping with this strategy SMD has a number of participations scheduled for the rest of its calendar for 2013, such as the Beijing International Tourism Expo, which will take place from 21-23 June 2013, and the World Travel Market (WTM), which will be held in British capital London.

SMD is also promoting the global events and exhibitions which will it host in the upcoming period, most notably the joint cooperation between the Department and the State Museums of Berlin to host a ground breaking exhibition on the occasion of the Emirate of Sharjah celebrating the honour of being named the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014.