Dubai: International tourist arrivals in Abu Dhabi grew 12 per cent to 1.34 million last year compared to 1.21 million in 2005, according to the latest Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) data.
Hotel guest nights recorded an 11 per cent growth reaching 3.9 million last year compared to 3.5 million in 2005.
Abu Dhabi, which occupies more than 70 per cent of the UAE's vast desertland, is a sleeping giant with a relatively high growth potential.
The new masterplanned projects that are currently in various stages of development, will cater to a growing number of regional and international visitors in the years to come, according to experts.
However, this growth will be further complemented by the expansion of Etihad Airways' network which will help the emirate to become an aviation hub.
The Abu Dhabi government is investing $6.8 billion in airport development that will help its existing facility serve more than 50 million passengers per year.
The 2006 tourism figures reflect a 17 per cent year-on-year growth of Abu Dhabi's tourism industry during the last ten years - between 1997 and 2006, rising from 344,385 tourists in 1997.
Among the visitors, British nationals top the list with 35 per cent followed by Germany with 31 per cent of all visitors. The US ranks third representing seven per cent of the tourists.
Abu Dhabi is likely to benefit from the Middle East's high-growth tourism and aviation business, which is performing way above the global average.
"The Middle East continued its trend of double-digit growth, leading all regions in January with a 19.8 per cent jump in passenger traffic. The region has posted double-digit growth in 41 of the past 43 months," said the latest report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Passenger growth stabilised in the three key markets of North America (6.6 per cent), Europe (5.5 per cent) and Asia Pacific (five per cent) as interest rates slightly dampened demand.
Air freight traffic growth continued in the Middle East with a 23.8 per cent rise in January, boosted by capacity increases and oil-led GDP growth.
However, high fuel costs and strong competition from other modes of transport have slowed freight growth in Asia (2.9 per cent), Africa (two per cent), North America (1.5 per cent) and Europe (-0.8 per cent), IATA said.
The value of current projects in Abu Dhabi is estimated to have crossed $200 billion and this is expected to give a further boost to the business travel segment.
These factors are going to help Abu Dhabi's tourism sector to grow further.
