Abu Dhabi Launches UK Open-house Meetings

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. October 14, 2008

ABU DHABI, UAE, August 14, 2006. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) will embark on a series of open-house meetings involving leading travel agents, tour operators and tourism media icons in the United Kingdom.

This innovative move is aimed at bolstering relations with the travel and tourism industry in the UK, particularly with institutions which have shown keen interest to promote Abu Dhabi as a competitive tourist destination.

The first of these open-house meetings was held recently at the ADTA's London office and was attended by a host of leading tour operators, travel agents and leisure media icons. The event was also an opportunity to familiarize the audience with the various attractions awaiting tourists in Abu Dhabi. The very ambience of the occasion was leavened with these attractions in the form of films, placards, brochures and photos featuring environmental, historical and cultural aspects in the Abu Dhabi emirate. Projects exhibiting the tourism boom in the emirate were also showcased, notably the 322,800 square feet Guggenheim museum of modern art on Saadiyat island.

According to ADTA Director General Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, these open-house meetings are crucial to the drive of promoting Abu Dhabi in the UK market. "The UK accounts for a great portion in the number of European tour groups visiting Abu Dhabi. Such meetings are therefore important because they will familiarize the UK industry with the Abu Dhabi potential. This is in addition to cementing ties with the travel and tourism institutions. It is through such meetings that we can foster close relations with key decision makers in the UK travel and tourism industry. This closeness will certainly help them to keep Abu Dhabi on top of their priorities".

"With these open-house meetings, the ADTA office in London will turn into a busy forum for interaction with tour operators, travel agents, tourism media and others who are keen to get involved in the Abu Dhabi tourism industry. Such interactions will create a constructive marketing climate", Muhairi explained.

The open-house meetings, said Al Muahairi, are complementary to other programmes such as the Road Show workshops which were held in London, Dublin and Glasgow, and the Abu Dhabi Champions programme, a project aimed at galvanizing elite promoters to effectively market Abu Dhabi in the UK. Over 250 participants in the UK have registered in the programme and 400 others are expected to join within the coming months. This will bring the total number of participants from the UK to 1000 this year. Commenting on the first open-house meeting, ADTA Marketing Manager Ali Ahmed Al Hosani said that the event was attended by leading UK industry players such as British Airways Holidays, Premier Holidays, Stylish Resorts, Abercrombie and Kent, along with media from the Cond'e Nast Group, the UK travel trade press and leading freelance writers, which are renowned for their publications.

"The open-house meetings constitute a major pillar in our sustained marketing strategy. As part of this strategy, we seek to enhance bilateral interaction through direct meetings. It is through such interactions that we can highlight mega tourism projects and thereby assert the presence of Abu Dhabi in global circles, particularly in the UK and Europe", said Hosani. The first open-house meeting was hailed by the participants, who also commended the various attractions offered by Abu Dhabi to its tourists. The Abu Dhabi Guggenheim project particularly drew considerable attention with delegates hailing it as a towering cultural and tourist configuration.

The Abu Dhabi Guggenheim is set to be larger than the existing Guggenheims in New York, Berlin, Bilbao, Las Vegas and the Italian city of Venice.