Check-in, world

Eight million was the figure announced by Abu Dhabi tourism officials last year when quizzed about the number of tourists the emirate expected by 2030. Some would call it ambitious, but nothing really is unrealistic for the capital, which has upped the ante in its drive to become one of the world's top tourism hotspots.

Today, Abu Dhabi isn't the hedonistic playground of in Sex and the City 2, but a wholesome tourist destination that marries family entertainment with world-class events such as the Formula One Grand Prix and the iconic architecture being built on Saadiyat Island.

But the questions that beg to be asked are: Is Abu Dhabi ready for this large influx of tourists? Is its infrastructure keeping up with vision 2030?

Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), offered a confident answer at last year's Arabian Hotel and Investment Conference: "We are on track for achieving an average 10 per cent annual growth in our tourism numbers for our long-term vision.

"By 2030, we expect 80,000 hotel rooms in the emirate and it will happen," he said.

Earlier this year, the ADTA revised its visitor targets upwards; it now hopes to welcome two million tourists by the end of 2011.

Room for thought

But perhaps the capital's biggest challenge is its slow-moving infrastructure that has been unable to keep up with its aggressive campaigning. And so far, bigger resort chains have preferred to opt for neighbouring Dubai.

Yet, some 4,000 new rooms in both business and leisure hotels and resorts are due to come online this year, adding to its expansive existing room stock of 18,844. TDIC alone will deliver six new properties this year, adding over 1,600 units.

Of the luxury hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts will run two of the nine hotels planned for Saadiyat island, including the first St Regis property in the UAE, and the $272 million Park Hyatt, set to open in October. Other big names are the 172-room Westin Hotel & Spa Abu Dhabi and the 281-unit Rocco Forte Hotel Abu Dhabi, both opening this summer. Special emphasis is being given to the UAE's own boutique brands, including the Eastern Mangroves and the Al Yamm and Al Sahel lodges.

Two other marques make capital debuts after Ramadan. The Jumeirah Etihad Towers will be the first of the Dubai chain's ventures, while November sees the opening of The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal — an Italian-themed resort with 395 rooms, suites and villas overlooking a private marina. This will be the largest resort to date in the emirate.

Flying start

So what sort of numbers are we dealing with now? 2010's new hotels and global marketing campaigns saw this year off to a flying start, with ADTA stating the emirate's hotels saw a 5 per cent jump in occupancy levels in January, compared to the same month last year, or 153,874 guests. In February, the destination clocked 17 per cent growth over last year, with 175,309 guests. Total guest nights for both months crossed the one-million mark. Visitors are also staying longer: average length of stay expanded 10 per cent to 2.99 nights in February.

"February puts us on an early track towards achieving our 2011 target," says Lawrence Franklin, ADTA Strategy and Policy Director. "Rising occupancy is a positive sign and ADTA will continue to focus on balancing the need to maintain our value proposition with the expectations of healthy returns by sector investors. The growth in length of stay suggests we are making inroads into our goal of attracting an increasing number of leisure guests who traditionally spend more time in the destination than those staying purely for business purposes."

However, Abu Dhabi has not lost sight of its key business travel market. ADTA forecasts a 15 per cent rise in business-related visitors this year to 1.5 million. Last year, it said travel for business as a percentage of hotel guests was 72 per cent. "Business-related tourism will continue to deliver the lion's share of demand in 2011, growing to 1.5 million hotel guests," says Franklin.

The next big focus of Abu Dhabi should be investing in its home cruise tourism market, a race that has seen contemporaries such as Dubai, Oman and Bahrain sail ahead. The emirate is already planning a new terminal and is looking at launching its own cruise liner in the future, considering, in the words of Shaikh Sultan, that Abu Dhabi has one of the world's largest shipyards. It is also gearing up for the arrival, this October, of the luxury liner MSC Lirica, which will home port in Abu Dhabi during its 19 Gulf sailings from the UAE capital.

While there is a long way ahead to the finish line of 2030's vision, Abu Dhabi's ambition, its financial strength and its conviction to deliver what it promises has never been in doubt.