Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is spearheading a three-city road show in India next week which will see the destination and 12 of its key stakeholders take their expanding tourism proposition to trade and media in Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai.

ADTA’s first road show in India follows on from a highly-successful, seven city European road show in July and begins in Mumbai on September 12, heads to New Delhi two days later and ends in Chennai on the 16th.

The move comes as India in the first seven months of this year became Abu Dhabi’s second largest international source market for hotel guests after the UK, accounting for some 58,724 guests - a 25 percent rise on the same period in 2010. In terms of guest nights in the first seven months, India was the third largest international source market after the UK and USA accounting for 235,695 - a 52 percent rise on the same period last year.

"There are strong air links between India and Abu Dhabi with routes between the two currently being served by Air India, Jet Airways and our own national airline, Etihad Airways, which operates a total of 52 flights a week covering eight Indian cities. The excellent air access, allied with market proximity and close business and social ties between Abu Dhabi and India, provides us with a strong competitive advantage to capitalise on the undoubted growth potential of India’s outbound tourism market. This point has increasingly been recognised by our tourism stakeholders who are also stepping up their own in-market activations," said Dayne Lim, Product Development Director, ADTA.

"Our aim for this inaugural road show in India is three-fold; to showcase Abu Dhabi’s expanding range of hospitality, events and attractions products, strengthen the distribution and packaging channels of these products, as well as deepen our market insights for valuable input to our future product development." "We have been monitoring the Indian outbound market for some time and now, in line with our infrastructural and product expansions as well as support from our valued stakeholders, is the opportune time for us to capitalise," concluded Lim.

Rotana, the award-winning, Abu Dhabi-headquartered hotel group, is one of several emirate-based stakeholders pursuing the Indian segment. It has opened an outbound sales office in India describing it as a "key feeder market" for the 10 properties it operates throughout Abu Dhabi emirate.

"The objective is to increase our market share whether business or leisure outbound travelers to all Rotana properties," said Omer Kaddouri, Executive Vice President ’&’ Chief Operating Officer, Rotana.

Joining Rotana on ADTA’s India road show are MSC Cruises, the European operator which will home port in Abu Dhabi for the first time this winter, Etihad Airways, Rocco Forte Abu Dhabi and Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, two new, five-star hotel properties opening in Q4, the Aloft Hotel, InterContinental Abu Dhabi and Grand Continental Flamingo Hotel, as well as Al Masood Holidays, Kurban Tours, DBA ’&’ Sons and Net Tours.

The road show will spell out the travel trade opportunities emerging from the destination’s dynamic tourism-driven product deliveries coming over the next six months.

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