All India, 8th September 2014 : Abu Dhabi’s recent five-city Indian roadshow pulled in more than 500 travel professionals from over 400 companies with stakeholders believing the destination will now attract great numbers of travellers from the republic with many of them staying longer than ever.

The roadshow – organized by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) featured 13 stakeholders and took in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi.

“The travel trade fraternity responded favourably to Abu Dhabi’s range of affordable accommodation options at the best of hotels at very compelling value such as the Hilton, Rotana, and Yas Viceroy,” said Bejan Dinshaw, Country Manager, India, TCA Abu Dhabi.

For John Bahr of the five-star Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi prospects for the meetings business emerged strongly. “India has a lot of potential and DMCs are positively thinking to grow and increase the leisure and MICE market to Abu Dhabi,” he said.

Mohammed Sheikh of Al Ain Zoo detected a palpable uplift in interest in the destination. “I feel people are becoming more interested in Abu Dhabi products,” he said.

India is currently Abu Dhabi’s leading overseas source market for hotel guests which further uplift expected with next February’s planned launch by Etihad Airways of a daily service from Kolkata. Abu Dhabi welcomed 124,912 Indian hotel guests from Jan – July 2014 at a growth rate of 35% over the same period last year. These guests delivered 475,177 guest nights, which was up 24% year-on-year.

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ABOUT ABU DHABI TOURISM & CULTURE AUTHORITY
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority conserves and promotes the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi emirate and leverages them in the development of a world-class, sustainable destination of distinction which enriches the lives of visitors and residents alike. The authority manages the emirate’s tourism sector and markets the destination internationally through a wide range of activities aimed at attracting visitors and investment. Its policies, plans and programmes relate to the preservation of heritage and culture, including protecting archaeological and historical sites and to developing museums, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The authority supports intellectual and artistic activities and cultural events to nurture a rich cultural environment and honour the emirate’s heritage. A key authority role is to create synergy in the destination’s development through close co-ordination with its wide-ranging stakeholder base.

For more information please contact:
Pukhraj Varshneya
PR and Brand Executive
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
India
Tel: +91 11 23737348, +91 9810871469 Fax: +91 11 23350270
Email: PVarshneya@tcaabudhabi.ae