Abu Dhabi aims to attract more tourists from India

Expecting to attract more tourists from India, Abu Dhabi, the largest of seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will launch a road show in India, an Abu Dhabi Tourism official said here Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, international promotion manager of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) Mubarak Al Nuaimi said India has the second largest number of tourists staying in hotels in the Arab nation, and they expected it to become the largest tourist source by 2014.

“India is now our second largest overseas market for hotel guests after Britain,” Nuaimi said.

“Should the growth trends of Britain and India continue as they have been for the past 12 months, there is every likelihood that India will be Abu Dhabi’s largest overseas source market for hotel guests in 2014,” he said.

According to the TCA, 125,180 Indian guests stayed in hotels in Abu Dhabi by November 2012. This is a 30 percent increase from 2011.

A majority of tourists from India are for official purposes like meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, popularly known as MICE tourists. TCA added that the UAE is also becoming popular as a wedding destination.

Nuaimi also said he expected increasing tourism would further strengthen the trade and bilateral relations.

“The relations between India and Abu Dhabi have been historical, of course this will strengthen the relations,” he said.