Beyond Excellence – Qatar Airways’ 5-Star Return to the ATM Show Floor
2022 represented Qatar Airways'(QA’s) return to the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) for the first time in 5 years. Taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the show attracts over 23,000 participants to explore the “Future of international travel and tourism”, so our challenge for QA was to ensure they made a big impact by bringing their progressive and confident brand values, heritage, and award-winning ethos to the show floor.
The 330 sq metre double deck stand was conceived to present the very best of Qatar’s beauty and culture in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and had to represent the physical embodiment of QA’s elegance and excellence. Our design brief was to create a uniquely different experiential concept that reflected QA’s 5-star service through a luxurious on-stand environment, innovative experiential elements, and VIP networking. – centred on their iconic corporate burgundy and gold branding and inspired by the new Al Murjan Business Lounge in Hamad International Airport’s brand-new terminal – the home of QA.
The oasis of tranquillity within the Hamad International Airport inspired by sunlight, water, and nature provided our design team with a fantastically rich palette to draw on. From the intricate patterns of Arabian calligraphy translated into exquisite filigree screens of gold to living walls featuring exotic plants and eye-catching water features, creating a calm VIP oasis of its own at ATM.
From the 264-tile high-impact LED crown that stood out across the hall, to the exquisite materials and design cues echoing a luxury lounge experience, we showcased QA’s trademark luxurious and memorable travel experience. Key to the concept was providing an airy space, in line with the show’s covid health and safety guidelines that require at least 80% of the total area to be open. High living walls with fine Arabic-inspired fretwork created a sense of space and grandeur in the main ground floor area, providing the ideal platform for digital engagement and business networking. For the upper deck VIP area as well as the CEO lounge, the emphasis was on beautiful natural finishes to create a gourmet dining experience within a welcoming, relaxing environment.
Every detail had a story to tell within the design. Materials selection was an important factor featuring marble surfaces, glossed metals and plush furniture combined with an intricate lighting design, harmonised the different spaces to reflect QA’s hallmark qualities of luxury, elegance, and calm. Even small details like flower arrangements were carefully considered decisions.
The use of Interactive technology experience enabled us to guide visitors through the stand whilst seamlessly telling the story of the QA’s brand, an effective tool to raise engagement. The interactive QA experience was orientated around 3 key areas of business- the airport, the in-flight experience, and QA’s routes to raise awareness of Qatar Airways’ new soon-to-be-launched flights to Amritsar and Goa in India and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
This experience began at the front of the stand with 3-tiered touchscreen pods, each pod playing host to an interactive screen containing an app of information about one of the key areas of business. As delegates moved deeper into the stand, visitors could try out QA’s multi-award-winning, “World’s Best Business Class Seat” with an interactive, hands-on experience as well as am immersive reality experience of Hamad International Airport utilising VR technology, providing visitors with the opportunity to explore the new airport terminal.
Their attendance provided the opportunity to re-establish their presence within the Arabian Travel Market and showcase themselves as leaders within their industry as well as spotlight their latest announcements and partnerships. Over the 3-day event QA celebrated taking home three awards: Leading Business Class Airline and the Best Cabin Crew in the Middle East during the World Travel Awards, and at the Business Traveller Awards, Qatar Airways was voted Best Economy Class in the Middle East.
Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said: “I am very positive about prospects for the Middle East, as the region remains strong despite the current economic climate and our presence at ATM shows our commitment to this exciting part of the world, which is still the world’s fastest-growing tourism market”.
