Abu Dhabi is on the brink of significantly boosting its share of India’s outbound tourism segment, according to the sub-Continent nation’s travel trade, who turned out in droves for the emirate’s debut destination promotion in Mumbai this week – the first stop on a three-city road show.

The promotion, which also takes in New Delhi on Wednesday and Chennai on Friday, is being led by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) along with 11 key tourism stakeholders keen to leverage India’s current ranking as Abu Dhabi’s fourth largest source market in terms of guest nights.

From January to July,Abu Dhabi welcomed 58,724 hotel guests from India - up 25% from the 46,882 guests who stayed in the emirate’s hotels during the same period last year – and the majority of the 150-plus Mumbai-based travel agents, tour operators and specialist media at the event believe Abu Dhabi’s debut road show in India will yield further growth.

“This road show has come at a perfect time because Abu Dhabi has changed from an add-on destination to a stand-alone destination in its own right for outbound Indian tourists” said Aparna Bhattacharjee, Senior Manager Marketing / Strategic Alliances, Cox & Kings – one of India’s oldest travel management companies. “Obviously a lot more needs to be done, but I expect to see gradual building over the next three to four years.”

With Dayne Lim, ADTA’s Product Development Director, heading the ADTA-led delegation, presentations by 11 key stakeholders - including Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national carrier; MSC Cruises, the Italian cruise operator that begins regional voyages from its Abu Dhabi home port next month; half a dozen hotel chains and properties, as well three Abu Dhabi-based tour operators – shed light on the emirate’s burgeoning tourism sector credentials.

“Previously, I thought Abu Dhabi only had the Corniche; so this was a fantastic knowledge-gathering tool. It has opened my eyes to some of the destination’s key leisure attractions and its world-class sports tourism events and assets,” said Manjula, CEO, Varun Worldwide Holidays. “Abu Dhabi’s movements in the golf tourism sector are especially interesting to us, as we are seeing huge growth in the outbound Indian sector; specific training programmes for specialist golf travel agents would only increase interest.”

A focus on culture and heritage in Abu Dhabi’s sustainable, long-term tourism strategy will attract heightened numbers of Indian visitors, believes Anita Noronha, Chief Marketing Officer, Cox & Kings. “This is the first time I have seen Abu Dhabi as a multi-faceted destination, with offerings for leisure, MICE and corporate travel. We have seen first-hand Abu Dhabi’s evolution from a desert resort to a modern getaway offering an intriguing mix of past and present. India has a rich culture of its own and we like to see other cultures – especially when they are on our doorstep.”

With Bhattacharjee and Noronha adding that the road show had allowed Cox and Kings to host a day of exploratory meetings with Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, a five-star property due to open in November, several other stakeholders reported strong interest from Indian travel companies.

“We’ve signed a couple of FITs from Ezee Go1, a Mumbai-based travel agency, and we have dozens of other leads to explore. The next step is turning interest into business,” said Sean Woods, Director of Sales, Rotana Hotels.

“The feedback we have received underlines our belief that this exercise will not only raise destination awareness, but also deliver increased inbound business,” said Lim. “With airlinks between Abu Dhabi and India better than ever before, this road show will remind India of the emirate’s accessibility and affordability, as well as highlighting many of the destination’s unique leisure attractions and potential for business, MICE and corporate tourism.”

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