Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry is heading to Japan and Korea this month for road shows aimed at putting the emirate’s expanding destination offering further up the Far Eastern outbound travel trade agenda.

Led by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), an 11-strong delegation – a mix of transport, hotel and resort operators, MICE facilities and destination management companies – will be touting an expanded tourism proposition which is being increasingly tailored to the high-yield Far Eastern visitor.

With ever stronger commercial and trade links between Abu Dhabi and both Japan and Korea, the emirate’s tourism sector is looking to turn business relationships to their advantage.

“Travellers from both countries now have good air access to the emirate with Etihad Airways operating 12 flights a week from Japan and seven from Korea to Abu Dhabi International Airport,” explained Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions & Overseas Offices, TCA Abu Dhabi.

The dual country push comes as Abu Dhabi receives more Japanese and Korean hotel guests than ever before. In the first four months of this year, 4,450 Japanese checked into the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments – a jump of 10% on the same period last year. They delivered 17,842 guest nights – which is up 5% year-to-date and translates into an average-length-of-stay of just over four nights.

Growth from South Korea was also encouraging. Some 5,059 Koreans stayed in the emirate’s accommodation from January to April this year – a 35% leap on the same period in 2012. They delivered 13,319 guest nights – a climb of 72% year-to-date and translated into average-length-of-stay of 2.63 nights – which is a 28% expansion.

Most delegation members accept tailored product will be needed to convert the lucrative, and highly sought-after, Japanese and Korean visitors – both for the independent leisure traveller and group business. Stop-over as well as point-to-point business is firmly in the delegation’s sights.

Destination Management Company Arabian Adventures has already started its segment tailoring.

“We currently operate a Japanese language Abu Dhabi city tour three days a week and from October 1 this year we will increase this to five a week,” explained Leila Dias, Business Development Manager. “We have also negotiated specific requirements with some hotels to provide 24 hour check-in, check-out facilities thereby reducing the cost of packages for transit passengers.”

Japan and Korea delivered approximately 15,500 UAE room nights for Arabian Adventures over the past year and the DMC plans to spur this with additional specialised product. “We plan to introduce more tours with Japanese language guides in the coming season,” added Dias.

Arabian Adventures, which has a GSA in Tokyo and a direct contract with JTB, the country’s biggest wholesaler/travel agent and has signed up with Korea’s biggest wholesale travel agency Hana Tours, sees both markets as tough but worthwhile markets to penetrate.

“The Japanese market is high yield and very organised, although it’s complex, there is consistence in the business, especially during the summer months when we need business for this region the most,” said Dias. “Korea has a strong economy and the potential to grow for this region, but will definitely need support from destinations.”

The iconic Emirates Palace says that while guests from both Japan and Korea currently represent a small percentage of its business, arrivals from both countries are high-end clients who could be worth product development investment.

“At the moment we do not have a specific product for either of these segments, though we are in the market for any potential opportunity and are looking into implementing new concepts in our hotel in the near future,” said Anita Cremer, Director of Sales & Marketing.

“We have seen an increase in the number of FIT and group requests from both countries in the last two years. In addition, our hotel has hosted several Japanese delegations, events and conferences this year.

“Emirates Palace and the government of Abu Dhabi have established strong relationships with the Japanese and Korean governments and continue to welcome many of these clients who are visiting the UAE, in particular Abu Dhabi, for business or leisure. Emirates Palace was an introduction to the Japanese and Korean markets as an iconic and ‘must visit’ place. Having the full support from the government, as well as the frequent flights between Japan and Korean and the UAE and Abu Dhabi, we foresee an increase in the number of visitors to the destination and our hotel.”

The four-star Al Mafraq Hotel – which is just a 10 minute drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport has made inroads into the Korean market – receiving 1,316 room nights from Korean guests this year – but is looking to further build on this and the Japanese market which has accounted for just 93 of its room nights this year. The hotel sees the road show both as a business generator and a fact-finding mission.

“We will look to create tailor-made product for both these specific markets and this will depend on various factors, which will be clearer on our return from the road show,” explained Mario Scotto, the hotel’s General Manager. “Both have potential with globalization and the increase of Etihad flights from both countries there will be inbound load factors either through transit or directly into the destination.”

Also looking to ‘test’ the market before product tailoring are two of the destination’s championship golf facilities – the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club both managed by Troon Golf and both highly conscious of Japan’s and Korea’s almost zealous addiction to the sport.

“Our presence at the road shows demonstrates our intention to gain a better understanding of these markets and we plan to tailor our marketing strategy accordingly,” explained Chris Card, the Group General Manager.

“We have a healthy number of international members, specifically 8% of our Abu Dhabi Golf Club members are Japanese and 8% are Korean, whilst Japanese nationals make up 7% of our Saadiyat Beach Golf Club members and as many as 15% are Korean.

“In terms of bookings we have seen an increase of 46% from Japanese nationals already this year.”

Card believes both markets could become star performers for the destination – particularly from a golfing perspective. Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) will join the promotion with its five-star Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa.

We accept Guest Posts

Download the Dubai City Guide iPhone mobile app

DubaiCityGuide.com is owned and managed by Cyber Gear