Abu Dhabi’s increasingly mature and ‘versatile’ destination offering, aided by heightened competitiveness, diverse leisure attractions, improved air links and several internationally-operated, soon-to-open hotels and resorts, will ensure the emirate attracts a significant share of India’s outbound travel industry in coming months and years, according to His Excellency Mohammed Sultan Al Owais - the UAE’s Ambassador to India.

The ambassador’s comments came as more than 480 members of India’s travel trade, including tour operators, travel agents and media, were briefed on the destinations latest developments during the emirate’s debut activation in India last week- a three-city road show promotion in Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.

With India now Abu Dhabi’s fourth largest source market in terms of guest nights, the road show – organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) – won the full support of Al Owais, who attended the New Delhi leg.

“The swift progression of Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted tourism products has been staggering and it is vital that we communicate the destination’s amazing versatility to major players in the Indian travel industry,” said Al Owais. “Filling knowledge gaps among the trade is an important step because these companies provide the link between consumer and destination.”

With India’s outbound travel market forecast to grow at an annual average rate of 7.1% over the next four years, 11 key Abu Dhabi tourism stakeholders - including Etihad Airways, MSC Cruises, Aloft Hotel Abu Dhabi, Rotana Hotels, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Rocco Forte Abu Dhabi, InterContinental Hotel Abu Dhabi, Grand Continental Flamingo Hotel Abu Dhabi, Al Masaood Holidays, Net Tours and DBA & Sons Travel & Tours – joined the road show to promote their products and services and explore collaboration opportunities with potential Indian partners.

“We hold monthly, one-to-one promotions with our account holders and TMCs, but having the destination come and present itself has made a real difference. The road show has created real awareness amongst trade representatives - it’s got people talking and added real value,” said Sreenaam Padmanabhan, Regional Sales Manager - South India, Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national carrier, which operates 52 weekly flights between the UAE capital and the sub-Continent nation.

MSC Cruises, which is preparing to home port its luxury MSC Lirica liner in Abu Dhabi from next month for 19 Arabian Gulf sailings this season said the road show would kick-start positive word-of-mouth recommendation.

“The destination has done itself justice with the road show; it has raised excitement because large travel companies have been educated about Abu Dhabi and what it offers India’s wide cross-section of international travelers,” agreed Aman Bhatia, Country Manager, India, MSC Cruises. “I’m certain our Indian partners will now present our products to their clients and drive sales. World will spread across India now.”

At the end of the roadshow, some stakeholders revealed they are preparing to welcome their first inbound familiarization trips of Indian agents to give them first-hand experience of the emirate’s burgeoning tourism portfolio. “We’ve had several requests from travel agents and tour operators for assistance in managing extended fact-finding missions to Abu Dhabi,” said Lubna Ali, Business Development Executive, DBA & Sons Travel & Tours.

Having conducted similar promotional events across seven European cities earlier this summer, ADTA is now finalising plans for a GCC road show.

“These in-market activations have proven to be an extremely successful way of talking directly to our trade partners,” said Dayne Lim, ADTA’s product Development Director. “The GCC remains Abu Dhabi’s biggest source market and, with the emirate’s world-class events calendar about to enter its action-packed primary season, targeting the region’s travellers remains a priority.”

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