Travel Daily | Australian Agents Get Familiar with Abu Dhabi

The agents, the highest achievers from an Australia-wide educational sales incentive run by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), were on a whistle-stop mega familiarisation tour across the emirate, jointly arranged with Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia.

The famil trip comes as TCA Abu Dhabi figures reveal double-digit growth in the number of Australians staying in the emirate’s 141 hotel and hotel apartments. In the first three months of this year, 7,987 Australians booked into Abu Dhabi hotels – a 17% increase over Q1 last year. This resulted in 30,199 guest nights – an increase of 21%, and extended the average-length-of-stay by three per cent to 3.78 nights.

“The upward trend is encouraging and we want to maintain the momentum by letting these top sellers know just how much more there is to see and do in the emirate. We want these agents to be our mouthpieces in the Australian market, encouraging Australians to stay here even longer,” explained Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions & Overseas Offices, TCA Abu Dhabi.

“Abu Dhabi can be sold to Australians as a stand-alone destination and as a longer stopover for those travelling to Europe and beyond. These Abu Dhabi Experts are a front-line force in pushing the message to consumers that the emirate can deliver exceptional experiences, the highest quality service and a world-beating welcome.”

The visiting agents from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth left the six-day tour more motivated to sell the emirate as both a point-to-point and stop-over destination.

“I’ll now recommend Abu Dhabi as an alternative option for a 3-5 night stopover break for my long haul clients. The hospitality has been above and beyond my expectations,” said Karen Spencer from Go Tours Travel, in New South Wales.

During the famil trip the group travelled to the emirate’s heritage heartland of Al Ain city to explore its World Heritage sites and visited the power-draws of Yas Island, including Yas Waterworld, with its heady mix of 43 rides, slides and attractions and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, where they experienced Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest rollercoaster. The agents also reviewed a range of Abu Dhabi’s finest hotels including the five-star, Hyatt Capital Gate, certified as the ‘world’s furthest leaning man-made tower’, as well as the opulent Emirates Palace and the beautiful Qasr al Sarab in the Liwa Desert.

“I no longer see Abu Dhabi simply as a stopover, but as a stand-alone family destination and somewhere that groups can enjoy themed cultural or sporting breaks. I have been particularly impressed with the provisions for children, especially Yas Waterworld and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi,” added Kylee Ellerton from Frank Ford Travel, part of the Travelscene consortium in Ballarat, Victoria.

The trip wrapped up with a behind-the-scenes tour of Yas Marina Circuit, home to this November’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and a farewell reception with Abu Dhabi’s tourism stakeholders at the iconic Yas Viceroy Hotel, the only hotel in the world to straddlean F1™ race track.

The 100 Abu Dhabi Experts Tour is the second major Australian initiative to be staged by TCA Abu Dhabi this year. In March, leading Australian tour operators were hosted in the emirate in a move to increase the range of destination packages available.