Grammy award winning indie band Coldplay will headline a special concert in Abu Dhabi on New Year’s Eve, following what has been a phenomenal year for the Emirate, which has is close to hitting its ambitious hotel guest target.

Coldplay, who recently released their fifth album entitled Mtlo Xyloto, performed at the Emirates Palace infront of 20,000 fans just three years ago.

As they make their grand return to the Destination Village in Abu Dhabi, the New Year’s concert will act as a curtain-raiser to the 2011/2011 Volvo
Ocean Race, which is expected to arrive into the capital’s port from Cape Town on January 1.

The Destination Village is located close to the Volvo fleet, that will dock there until January 14, enabling fans who stay for long enough to get a glimpse of the ships as they sail in.

Coldplay is the latest in a raft of entertainment in Abu Dhabi this year, which international sporting events such as the Volvo Ocean Race and the annual Formula One Grand Prix on Yas Island credited for bringing such a dynamic assortment of top acts out to Abu Dhabi’s stages.

Sir Paul McCartney, Britney Spears and Incubus are among entertainers who performed on Yas Island’s Yas Arena earlier this year as Yas Island is fast becoming one of the region’s hottest entertainment destinations, attracting various international talent to the Capital as well as entertainment lovers locally and from across the region. Also this month, Dubai has had performances by Nancy Ajram, Taio Cruz and The Script.

These world acclaimed celebrities and international sporting events are thought to have boosted occupancy figures at Abu Dhabi’s hotels and apartments, which posted record November figures, according to the latest figures released by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).

Last month, Abu Dhabi welcomed 206,748 hotel guests, 22% increase on the corresponding month last year and the first time in two years that a calendar month has broken the 200,000 mark.

November’s performance means that in the first 11 months of this year, the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments received 1,903,888 guests - a 16% rise on the year-to-date period in 2010. Guest nights also rose 23%, to 5,694,140 from the 4,640,893 figure hit last year.

The Emirate is less than 97,000 guests away from achieving its ambitious 2011 target of two million hotel guests.

“Without putting the horse before the cart, we are confident that we will surpass our stretch target for the year,” said Lawrence Franklin, Strategy & Policy Director, ADTA. “This represents a fantastic achievement for everyone involved with the emirate’s tourism industry and is based upon the ongoing collaborative efforts and achievements of our stakeholders to ensure Abu Dhabi realises its potential.”

“We have already had hotels and hotel apartments report strong business over what was an historic National Day weekend and the expected influx for the end-of-year Volvo Ocean Race fleet should ensure December seals fantastic, across-the-board performance levels for the year,” Lawrence added.

The UK is still Abu Dhabi’s top international source market; some 15,246 Britons filled the emirate’s hotels last month, an 11% rise on November 2010, while Germany remains the second-largest European source market - 7,630 German nationals guaranteeing a year-to-year rise of 19%.

“We anticipate even bigger demand in Germany following the recent launch of Etihad’s four weekly services from Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi and Air Berlin’s plans to operate four flights a week between Berlin and Abu Dhabi International Airport from January,” added Franklin.

“The Air Berlin service, which follows the move by Etihad Airways to increase its stakeholding in Europe’s six largest carrier, now means passengers on 29 flights a week from four German cities can feed into the new Berlin-Abu Dhabi service.”

World Travel Awards Grand Final Ceremony

The prestigious World Travel Awards Grand Final will take place on January 11th at the Katara Cultural Village in Doha.

Qatar is recognised as the Middle East’s Leading Business Destination by the prestigious World Travel Awards.

Graham Cooke, president and founder, World Travel Awards, highlights how his organisation selects host destinations that are driving the industry to new heights through innovation and experimentation.

He said: “We are delighted to host our Grand Final Gala Ceremony in Qatar as it is such an exciting place to be right now with incredible opportunities within the luxury sector.

“Our Grand Final will see the winners of our five regional heats, who represent the cream of the global travel and tourism industry, compete head to head for the ultimate travel accolade.”