Business | Tourism
Abu Dhabi's tourism industry generated Dh8.68b last year
The tourism industry in Abu Dhabi last year generated Dh8.68 billion in revenue from 1.35 million hotel guests, representing a per capita average spend of Dh6,429.62 per visit, according to government statistics.
- By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor
- Published: 00:00 March 10, 2007
- Chief regulator. Mubarak Al Muhairi, director-general of ADTA, in Berlin.
- Image Credit: Saifur Rahman/Gulf News
Berlin: The tourism industry in Abu Dhabi last year generated Dh8.68 billion in revenue from 1.35 million hotel guests, representing a per capita average spend of Dh6,429.62 per visit, according to government statistics.
Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates of the UAE, has 10,000 guest rooms - a capacity expected to grow 60 per cent by in two years and 150 per cent by 2015.
"We want to reposition Abu Dhabi as a high-end tourism destination by attracting high spenders," Mubarak Al Muhairi, director-general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the emirate's tourism regulatory body, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview in Berlin.
International tourist arrivals in Abu Dhabi grew 12 per cent to 1.35 million last year compared to 1.21 million in 2005.
Hotel guest nights recorded 11 per cent growth reaching 3.9 million last year compared to 3.5 million in 2005, indicating that on average, each visitor stayed at least three nights per visit.
"We do not want Abu Dhabi to be a mass destination. It will be a destination of culture, heritage and museums. Cultural and eco-tourism will be the two key attractions in our overall tourism master plan."
Abu Dhabi last year announced plans to set up Guggenheim and Louvre museums in ADTA's flagship tourism project Saadiyat Island, which means Happy Island. Besides the two world-famous museums, it will also host a Maritime Museum, Performing Arts Museum and Shaikh Zayed Museum.
Hotels in Abu Dhabi last year recorded 79 per cent occupancy and the tourism sector's contribution to the emirate's GDP stands at 2.9 per cent.
"But if you only calculate the non-oil GDP, tourism sector's contribution stands at 7.1 per cent," he said.
New player
Al Muhairi said his organisation, which is a new player in the field, is a regulator as well as facilitator and developer.
Established two years ago by the Government of Abu Dhabi to spearhead the growth of the emirate's tourism industry, the authority has since began an ambitious plan to regulate, as well as accelerate, the tourism industry's growth.
"ADTA is a regulator as well as a developer. We are not going to wait for others to invest in Abu Dhabi; rather attract investors by creating the infrastructures and opportunities."
ADTA last year launched the Saadiyat Island project, a Dh100 billion tourism and leisure destination, that is aimed at attracting private investment as well as creating new tourism attractions in Abu Dhabi.
It later created Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), its investment and development arm, to create major tourism destinations across the emirate. Al Muhairi said a number of new projects are in the pipeline.
"We have already acquired major lands and islands in various parts of the emirate for developing as major tourism sites," Al Muhairi, said. "We are going to make two major announcements on two new projects in the coming two months. These will raise the profile of our industry in the coming years."
Share this article
Popular in Business
-
XPRESS
Way to go this DSF
A fun-filled route to guide you to all the happening dos in town
Business Editor's choice
-
Shaikh Mohammad reaffirms UAE unity
Vice-President quashes talk of discord and reassures investors on the strength of Dubai's economy
-
Pizzazz on the palm: A Nikki Bisiker project
Bright, bold and ultra glam are the top notes of this apartment in The Palm Jumeirah's beautiful marina
-
flydubai starts service to Sudanese capital
Dubai's first low cost airline, celebrated its eighth inaugural flight in less than six months
