TOURISM
Dhabi’s protected eastern mangrove district. Eastern Mangroves Hotel includes 224 hotel rooms and suites, three
restaurants, ballroom, state-of-the-art conference facilities, and a traditional hamam-style spa. Te recently-opened Capital Gate centre – which holds the Guinness
World Record for being the world’s most leaning tower - at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, is an example of the creativity of the architecture in the emirate. Te iconic tower includes office space and a Hyatt Hotel, sure to win business with the growing number of trade visitors attending events at the adjoining conference and exhibition centre. On top of Capital Gate, there is an astonishing list of new developments under development, on the drawing board, and opening soon. TDIC has opened Al Bateen Beach, a beach-side park overlooking 800
metres of pristine coastline, with an emphasis on family-friendly fun. Located in the Al Bateen area, ten minutes from Abu Dhabi Corniche, the park aims to attract residents and tourists. Hotel chain Rocco Forte has just opened its first property in the Middle
East, in Abu Dhabi city centre, a joint venture between TDIC and Al Farida Investments Company LLC. Te five star, 281 room hotel features two 11-storey towers with a striking glass façade, a shopping galleria and public gardens. Forte joins a growing list of world-renowned hotel owners and
operators, including the likes of Fairmont, W, Rotana, Shangri-La, Traders, Westin, Hyatt and Anantara. Te recently-opened Abu Dhabi Central Market is a mixed-use
development comprising three residential and office towers; an Arabian Souk, restaurants and hotels. Te tallest of the three towers, at 382m, is Abu Dhabi’s tallest building. International Capital Trading›s corniche-based multi-use
development, Nation Towers, includes a five-star, 281 room St. Regis hotel, occupying the top 17 floors of Tower 2. As an idea of the scale of development, according to Bahrain- headquartered market information provider, Data Media Systems, at the end of 2011, there were more than 40 infrastructure, hospitality, commercial, retail and residential projects taking place in Abu Dhabi with values of more than US$100 million. Indeed, some reports claim the top ten developments in the emirate alone amount to a total of more than US$200 billion.
Sport, of course, is a crucial aspect of the tourism development plan, and
along with world-class golf courses from one end of the city to the other, hosting significant events such as the annual European PGA Tour-backed Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, there is the Formula One Grand Prix, which attracts 50,000 people a year. Now the Volvo Ocean Race uses Abu Dhabi as one of the stop-off points on this legendary yachting contest, setting Abu Dhabi’s reputation as a world-class sports venue in stone. Te emirate has carefully spent the last three years building its
reputation as a tourist destination and announcing flagship projects. Now the announcements and the brand-building seem to be working, the next few years in Abu Dhabi look set to be characterised by actual building l
And it just keeps growing..... Al Reem Island development is a $30 billion master-planned
mixed-use community. Te development sits on a natural island just 600 meters of the cost of Abu Dhabi main island. Spread across 6.5 million square meters the island is being built by three developers; Sorouh, Reem Investments, and Tamouh. Tis ‘mega-development’ is one of the largest under construction in Abu Dhabi and will include a business district, a commercial district and a residential district, transforming the island into a ‘city within a city’. Facilities include schools, golf courses, shopping malls, art galleries and four hospitals. Te island is expected to have a population of over 200,000 when complete in 2018. Te $40 billion ‘Capital City’ project – a re-envisioning of the heart of the city – includes all federal ministries, local government offices and embassies. Te 49 million square metre development is planned as a sustainable, mixed-use city for 370,000 residents as well as major universities, a 60,000 seater stadium, hospitals and knowledge-based employment sectors,
federal buildings,
embassies and international institutions. Work starts on the Capital City District this year, and is expected to be completed by 2028.
44 I CITYSCAPE I APRIL 2012
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