The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is marking the first anniversary of its Abu Dhabi Specialists E-learning Programme by introducing new modules and markets for the training scheme.

The programme, which was launched just over a year ago as part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, saw all forms of physical promotional offers, workshops and training courses shifted onto virtual platforms.

It was designed to educate travel industry professionals, including front-liners, product managers, tour operators, travel agencies and home-based agents, about ways to promote Abu Dhabi effectively.

Launched in May last year, the e-learning has been successfully rolled out across the markets in 17 different countries and in seven different languages.

So far, 13,670 applicants have registered for the course and more than 7,000 have graduated as ‘Abu Dhabi Specialists’.

“We are really heartened by the strong support from the global travel trade for this programme and, as such, we will be launching additional learning modules and expanding into new markets in Switzerland and Israel,” said Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, executive director of marketing and tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi. 

“Despite the last year being an extremely challenging period for the tourism sector, through this innovative programme we have still been able to connect with travel professionals around the world and help them understand why Abu Dhabi is such an extraordinary destination.

“As we open up to travellers from across the world once again, we are confident the Programme has increased awareness of Abu Dhabi’s amazing offerings, which in turn will lead to increased sales activity and lengths of stay for visitors.”

The investment in training and upskilling confirms DCT Abu Dhabi’s commitment to support the travel trade in key source markets to provide quality advice and better service to customers considering Abu Dhabi as a travel destination.  

The programme is part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s Travel Trade Marketing Plan ensure the travel specialists are equipped with the right knowledge and tools to sell.

Besides the training aspects, the specialists receive regular communications on the destination, invitations to events, and access to marketing toolkits.

As Abu Dhabi’s reputation as leisure destination continues to grow, travellers considering the destination can utilise the planning expertise offered by travel agents.

By completing the programme, the agents gain the knowledge and tools needed to aid selling efforts and increase professionalism, which leads to better revenue opportunities, especially after understanding the varied product offerings of Abu Dhabi.