Leading Indian Travel Agents Urged To Discover Emirate’s Diversity
All India, 24th October 2016 (GPN) : India’s leading travel agents have been urged to seize the potential of Abu Dhabi’s diverse tourism offering to further boost their already growing business relations with the Emirate.
The call came at a welcome gala reception for up to 600 agents, all members of The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) – the ‘voice’ of the country’s rapidly expanding travel and tourism sector – which is staging its 63rd annual convention at Abu Dhabi’s signature Emirates Palace this week for the first time in Abu Dhabi.
Addressing the agents, HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which hosted the gathering, said the outbound Indian market is of paramount importance to the Emirate as it is now the largest overseas source of hotel guests.
In the first half of this year 152,423 Indians checked into Abu Dhabi hotels which were a 20% year-over-year increase. Indian guests accounted for 7% of all hotel stays in the Emirate, with a longer-than-average stay of 3.4 nights.
Ghobash said with three airlines now operating more than 300 combined flights a week to Abu Dhabi from 15 different Indian cities, the Emirate could be promoted within India as a convenient short-break choice, a luxury wedding celebration destination and a world-class meeting and convention venue in less than four hours flying time.
“Abu Dhabi could cater to the various travel segments because of its product diversity which spans capital city luxury, Yas Island entertainment, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Al Ain and superb desert and island resorts within Al Gharbia” said TCA Director General. He also pointed to new attractions taking shape on Yas Island and the near completion of the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island.
Abu Dhabi was selected as host venue for the TAAI convention following a successful bid by the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau – the dedicated TCA Abu Dhabi division which champions the Emirate as a dynamic global business events leader.
During their stay in Abu Dhabi, the TAAI delegates will be hosted on city tours and will visit Yas Island, the Emirate’s entertainment destination, where they will experience Ferrari World Abu Dhabi – the world’s only Ferrari theme park.
The TAAI Convention is the second major overseas summit being hosted in Abu Dhabi this month. From October 10-12, the emirate hosted the 2016 convention of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which featured decision-makers from the UK travel and tourism industry, including influential media representatives. The convention was held at the iconic, five-star Yas Viceroy – the only hotel in the world to straddle an F1 race track.
