World Travel Awards crowns Abu Dhabi
Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairy, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has welcomed the worldwide recognition of his outfit, which has been awarded the ‘Best Promotion Board’ and the ‘Best New Tourism Destination’ awards by the World Travel Award (WTA). He said the winning of such a prestigious award which is being granted annually for the best achievements realised in the world’s tourism industry, came to crown the unstinting efforts of the ADTA, which was founded in 2004 to promote and market Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry worldwide.
‘The two awards which have been received on Wednesday by ADTA’s officials in the party held in the emirates palace came at a time when Abu Dhabi’s Tourism industry has made a tremendous achievement, reflected in the over 1.3 million tourists that visited the emirate in 2006 with the visitors spending 2.5 million nights, which represent a rise of 40% compared to the figure recorded in the previous year,’ Al Muhairy elaborated..
‘Our winning of the ‘Best Promotion Board’ and the ‘Best New Tourism Destination’ awards is another recognition by international tourism institutions of the great efforts being made by the ADTA to boost Abu Dhabi’s position among the world’s leading tourism destinations,’ he added.
He pointed out that the two awards reflect Abu Dhabi’s great potential as an international tourism destination for business and recreation tourism. ‘It also re-affirms the increasing recognition of Abu Dhabi by international travel and tourism bodies,’ he said, adding that the achievement was the result of ADTA’s proactive presence in international tourism events and the fruit of its exerted promotional campaigns in its targeted tourism markets.
He said Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector, in the past few years, had witnessed a major surge reflected in the high rates of hotel occupancy with the average rate standing at 84.4% in 2006, up from the 78.4% recorded in the previous year. The growth rate, he said, stood at 7.6%, adding that there was also a high increase of visitors to Abu Dhabi in 2006, putting the figure at 1.345 million tourists. The figure represents a rise of 12% compared to 2005.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said ADTA also intensified its activities both at the local, regional and international levels. These activities include the organising of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship early this year, sponsoring of classical music, opera and the showing of the ‘Chicago Fever’ drama recently, as well as the organising of the Gulf Incentive Tourism Exhibition and Conference, which is the first of its kind in the region.
Touching on the participation of Abu Dhabi in exhibitions abroad, Al Muhairy said it is still the major objective of ADTA to market and promote Abu Dhabi as one of the world’s best tourism destination and to put the emirate at an enviable position on the world tourism map, adding that Abu Dhabi had made a giant stride in that regard.
Click here for the complete list of winners at the World Travel Awards, Middle East.
Sponsored links
Abu Dhabi
Hotels
Log on to VLM Abu Dhabi if you are looking for one of the
Internet’s most comprehensive directory of
hotels in Abu
Dhabi including a rich visual library of photo galleries,
virtual tours and videos. Very Last Minute Abu Dhabi allows you
to get in touch with the hotels directly - no middle man.
target="_top">www.VLMabudhabi.com.
Virtual Abu
Dhabi
Virtual Abu Dhabi allows you to experience the magic of Abu Dhabi
without leaving your desk. The website uses rich media and includes 22
videos and 376 virtual tours.
target="_top">www.virtual-abudhabi.com.
Checkout Flights 2 Abu Dhabi if you want to find out how you can
fly to Abu
Dhabi from anywhere in the world. Flights 2 The World is a
leading supplier of flight data, include real-time flight information
allowing you to check delays on any commercial flight, also the airport
codes for every airport making booking flights easy.
target="_top">www.flights2abudhabi.com.
Log on to Abu Dhabi Up if you want to find a portal where you
supply the content. This rich media portal for Abu Dhabi allows
you to tell the world what the top destinations and resorts are really
like, share your holiday experience with anyone worldwide, or just find
out what a destination is really like before your visit.