DRMumbai: Abu Dhabi Tourism with a panoply of new products, including the much-touted Warner Bros. Theme Park and the CLYMB (both on Yas Island), the world’s largest flight chamber and highest indoor climbing wall, is on a roll. With Indian tourist arrivals showing a jump of 11 per cent in 2017, the Emirate is set to go the whole hog to tap this potential market. Here, Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager India, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, talks about the Emirate’s plans for India.
“With India, we have seen growth in all segments. Leisure and family have grown tremendously, followed by weddings and MICE” – Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager India, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
What are the five things that are very new to Abu Dhabi that may interest tourists?
The latest offering at the Emirate is Louvre Abu Dhabi, which had received an overwhelming response during its opening in November 2017 and still continues to be a huge draw. Besides, Warner Bros. Theme Park and CLYMB, two big ticket projects on Yas Island are getting ready to be thrown open to visitors soon.
Seaworld Abu Dhabi, set to open in 2022, will include a research, recovery and rehabilitation centre aimed at safeguarding the marine environment. In addition to this, we have new hotels and resorts opening on Sa’adiyat Island: Sa’adiyat Rotana Resort (May 2018); Jumeirah Sa’adiyat Island (November 2018); Rixos Sa’adiyat Island (2018 end). Also in the offing are the Corniche: Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl (June 2018); Fairmont Marina Resort & Residences (November 2018) and The Edition Abu Dhabi in the emerging district of Al Bateen (August 2018).
Which are the products/experiences you are promoting for Indian travellers?
All our products and experiences have something different to offer and are of equal importance. It depends on different markets. Indians are quite fond of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Water World, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Al Ain Oasis, Qasr Al Sarab, Nurai Island, and experiences like dune bashing and kayaking.
What was the foreign tourist arrival numbers for Abu Dhabi in 2017 and what has been the growth compared to 2016?
Around 4.9 million FTAs were registered in 2017 across the Emirate, with a rise of 9.8 per cent compared to the previous year.
How many Indian tourists travelled to Abu Dhabi in 2017?
A total of 3,60,000 Indian tourist arrivals were recorded in 2017, an 11 per cent increase from the 3,23,000 recorded in 2016.
Which are the customer segments that you are attracting the most from around the world? Is it different from India?
India is one of our leading overseas markets. With India, we have seen growth in all segments. Leisure and family segments have grown tremendously, followed by weddings and MICE. In fact, we have hosted grand weddings from India in Abu Dhabi last year.
Which are your key source markets?
Our key source markets include China, India, UK, United States, Saudi Arabia and Germany. India is our second leading overseas market.
In India which city/states contribute more numbers to Abu Dhabi?
We do not have demographic data regarding the contribution of individual cities in India. We gauge the data as per the rate of check-ins made by Indian travellers in any of the hotels in Abu Dhabi.
