TOURISM


A ROOM WITH A VISION W


Abu Dhabi is a tourism hotspot on the global holiday map


hile Dubai has been heavily promoting tourism for the last decade, in the capital, Abu Dhabi, it is a newer, but growing, phenomenon.


‘Brand Abu Dhabi’ is now taking off, after studious behind the scenes tourism development work. And as the government’s tourism vision (part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 strategy document) takes form, so the skyline of Abu Dhabi changes. Abu Dhabi has recorded its most successful year ever in terms of hotel guest arrivals, with some 2,111,611 people staying in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments – beating its 2011 stretch target of 2 million by 6.5 per cent – that’s more than 100,000 guests. Last year saw substantial additions to Abu Dhabi’s hotel and resort


inventory – some additional 2,000 rooms in the last quarter alone - including several five-star beach properties opening up Saadiyat Island (envisioned as a world-class leisure, residential, business and tourism hub)


to guests, and leaving the emirate well placed to build for 2012. Annual growth was recorded across a number of key metrics, including: guest nights, which were up 22 per cent to 6.3 million; occupancy levels, which rose 7 per cent to 69 per cent; revenue, which rose 3 per cent to AED 4.375 billion (US $ 1.2 billion) and length of stay, which expanded 5 per cent to 2.97 nights. Room revenue increased by 2 per cent to AED2.3 billion (US$631 million), though the average room rate slipped by 14 per cent to AED490 (US$133), while food and beverage revenue increased by 6 per cent to AED1.605 billion (US$434.721 million). By comparison, 2006 saw 1.18 million hotel guests staying in the capital, with tourism accounting for 7.1 per cent of non-oil GDP, according to Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) figures. Tis year, the ADTA is staging its largest-ever promotions programme,


42 I CITYSCAPE I APRIL 2012


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