significant contribution to the GDP for the emirate. In numbers, the tourism sector has contributed AED 24.6 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP in 2012, out of which the direct contribution was 5.3%, which equates to 10.4 billion of non-oil GDP and direct employment of 59,317 jobs in 2012 with hotels and restaurants representing the largest share of this employment at 30,720 jobs”. When asked about TCA Abu Dhabi’s strategic priorities for 2015 and beyond, he responds, “The key strategy for 2015 and beyond is to attract more visitors, to stay longer, and experience more across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. We will press ahead with our strategy of steady measured growth aligned to the development of the tourism sector and support public and private sector investment through promotional activities, tourism investment, marketing and activities by the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau which handles the lucrative
MICE sector requirements.” Abu Dhabi’s diverse portfolio of tourism offerings provide for great opportunities for growth, as Mr. Sultan explains: “By continuing to appeal to visitors through an expanding portfolio of tourism products and events, and a healthy mix of leisure and MICE promotional campaigns, our focus will be to get the message out, to as wide an audience as possible so that there is more to do in this emirate than ever, to encourage our guests to stay longer and all the while, encourage new SME and headline tourism product development. We have also recently expanded our overseas footprint with a new South African promotional office, and work hand-in-hand with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE to identify and support their route development programme. Product themed promotion has also been
stepped up in 2015, with plans for enhanced multi-stakeholder seasonal campaigns, further promotion of our existing public-private sector cruise and golf partnerships and event packaging.” “We will maintain strategic operations from our 11 overseas offices and are also expanding our footprint to new markets – namely Serbia, Holland and Azerbaijan – as part of an extensive programme of 21 trade exhibitions and 8 roadshows across 32 cities in 20 countries through 2015.” Numerous other initiatives have also been underway to attract more visitors from key source markets such as the United States, China, and European countries. We asked Mr. Sultan what are some of the main selling points in attracting these tourists on a large scale. In response, Mr.
Issue 10 - OCTOBER 2015
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