The annual UnConvention Tour travel convention organised by leading Italian travel agency Idee per Viaggiare (IPV)  is being held in Abu Dhabi next week – its first overseas venue since its inception four years ago..

Some 130 top Italian travel agents and tourism professionals will in Abu Dhabi for the convention which is being jointly supported by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), Etihad Airways and The Vision Destination Management.

Delegates are IPV's highest achieving agencies and will be given insights into Abu Dhabi's increasingly diverse tourism offering.

It was quite spontaneous to think of Abu Dhabi for the UnConvention, due to its increasing appeal and positioning as a destination for Italian tourists. Abu Dhabi resonates with us in many ways as  it looks to the future but at the same time is deeply rooted to its traditions and heritage,â€‌ said Danilo Curzi, CEO Idee per Viaggiare.

The convention will run today September 11 to 17 with delegates spread out across four of the UAE capital’s leading hotels. The group will experience a guided city tour to discover the city's main cultural sites such as the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Manarat Al SaadIyat, the Heritage Village, Breakwater & Corniche and become acquainted with Abu Dhabi's culture and landscape. They'll also enjoy Abu Dhabi's main attractions including Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld.

The convention itself will take place at the iconic Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, with a full day of workshops before delegates head to another UAE capital landmark – Emirates Palace for a special Arabian gala dinner. Thhe trip will wrap up with some leisure time for delegates to head to the beach, shopping or explore the city and other sites.

We are confident that this is the right formula for our guests: during site-inspections and workshops, agents can directly meet partners and become familiar with the offer.  Our aim is to turn  Abu Dhabi's Travellers Welcome claim into an Italian delicacy, added Danilo Curzi.

TCA Abu Dhabi believes the convention will go a long way to building the emirate's appeal within Italy which now has non-stop services from Milan and Rome to Abu Dhabi.

We continue to make significant gains in the numbers of Italians staying in our hotels and hotel apartments, said Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director, TCA Abu Dhabi. In the first seven months of this year some 30,078 Italians stayed in our accommodation, which was a year-on-year increase of 17%. They accounted for 132,641 guest nights, which was up by 2% and stayed, on average 4.41 nights. The length of stay has slipped slightly on last year and we now want to both convince more Italians to choose Abu Dhabi for their vacations and persuade them to stay longer by demonstrating to these key influences that there's more than ever to see and do here.

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