Travel Daily | Abu Dhabi on the Road to Success

Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) last week conducted its hugely successful roadshow across capacity events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The events, which saw around 350 agents attend across the three days, included presentations from TCA Abu Dhabi Australia and partner airlines Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia as well as attendance from local and international partners including Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi, Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas UAE, Crowne Plaza Hotel and Staybridge Suites Yas Island, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr Abu Dhabi, City Seasons Group, Big Bus Tours as well as destination marketing companies Arabian Adventures and Hala Abu Dhabi.

“We’ve always received strong interest in our roadshows, but this year we really saw a huge boost in numbers,” said Michael Woods, Country Manager for TCA Abu Dhabi Australia.

“Travel agents are now aware that Abu Dhabi is well and truly on the map and is increasing in popularity among Australian travellers looking for culturally-rich, adventurous and luxurious experiences, so they realise the importance of ensuring they’re up-skilled in the destination,” added Michael.

The roadshow comes off the back of recently released figures which show that Abu Dhabi’s 146 hotels and hotel apartments delivered their ‘Best Ever’ May results with near across-the-board growth in key performance indicators. Growth was recorded across guest arrivals, guest nights, average-length-of-stay, occupancy and revenues.

“We have seen significant growth for our Abu Dhabi hotel from this region and will continue to work closely with the TCA Abu Dhabi team here in Sydney on trade and consumer activities to support the destination,” said Teree George, Director of Global Sales, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts.

Abu Dhabi has now experienced consistent arrivals growth every month this year and leaves it well placed to achieve its 2013 hotel guest target of 2.5 million.

Despite the high attendance numbers at the roadshow, Michael Woods still believes there’s a job to be done around continuing to educate the trade on the destination.

“Abu Dhabi is forever developing and growing as a destination, with new attractions, hotels and events continuing to pop up in the emirate. We need to continue to be proactive in the market and ensure that we’re sharing these developments as well as educating the trade and providing the tools for them to sell the destination to their clients.”