Middel East, Abu Dhabi

Tourism drive for Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is set to invest an extra $10 billion (£5.1 billion) in tourism in the city in the next ten years, it has been announced.



Holidays in the Middle East have become a favourite with Britons in recent years, with Abu Dhabi's hotels generating Dh 8.6 billion (£1.2 billion) in 2006, thanks to 1.35 million guests staying in them, the Emirates Evening Post reports.

Along with its fellow Emirate city Dubai, holidays in Abu Dhabi are thought to be having a positive effect on the region's economy.

Around one in every 8.5 per cent of jobs in the area are travel and tourism related, a figure expected to rise to 9.1 per cent by 2016, Adel Lootah, executive director of the Dubai Property Group, told the newspaper.

He said: "The United Arab Emirates and especially Dubai are now beginning to reap the benefits of investing in tourism, a policy which began with the establishment of the Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing department in 1997, followed by the launching of Burj Al Arab in 1999 and the flood of hotels, resorts and entertainment facilities which came online since."

Situated in the largest of the seven emirates, Abu Dhabi offers visitors a taste of old and new, with its dramatic modern skyscrapers and luxury hotels juxtaposed with traditional souks and camel riding activities.

Abu Dhabi 'to boost business tourism'

Abu Dhabi is to concentrate on business tourism in order to boost the number of international visitors it receives, it has been reported.

The Middle East tourism destination wants to attract three million international visitors a year within the next eight years, up from its current one million, business tourism magazine MICEBTN reports.

Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority (ADTA) has drawn up a three-year plan in order to make the emirate a focus for business travellers.

"The business tourism industry forms an integral element of Abu Dhabi's ambitions to attract three million tourists by 2015," ADTA chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan commented.

The city has a reputation as being one of the safest places in the world to go on holiday and its gleaming hotels and tower blocks, white sandy beaches and traditional souks are just some of its attractions for those on holiday in the Middle East.

A holiday in Dubai, another emirate, is also a popular choice for travellers and is said to be one of the best places to shop on the planet.

Over a million Britons went to the United Arab Emirates last year, official figures show.

© See Terms and Conditions