Abu Dhabi has signed to a unique two-year agreement to become World
Travel
  Market’s official Premier Partner for 2007 and 2008 in a move that
  underlines the Gulf emirate’s commitment to Britain’s top travel
show and to
  building its profile in the UK and wider European market.

  The capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi has emerged as one
of the
  world’s most rapidly developing destinations in recent years
following the
  government’s decision to promote tourism as a key priority sector in
its
  diversification strategy.

  Voted the World’s Leading New Destination at last year’s World
Travel
  Awards, Abu Dhabi plans to build on this success by capitalising on
its
  outstanding natural and cultural attractions, as well as enhancing and

  diversifying its tourism infrastructure for the future.

  The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), formed in 2004, has set a
target of
  more than doubling annual visitor numbers from 1.35 million last year
to
  over three million by 2015.

  The ADTA will use the platform of its Premier Partner sponsorship to
help
  promote the philosophy of Abu Dhabi, as a destination attractive to
more
  discerning up-market travellers. Besides year-round sunshine, fine
hotels
  and excellent facilities for leisure, sport, shopping and dining, the

  emirate offers an authentic taste of traditional Arabian culture and
  outstanding natural beauty, including vast tracts of spectacular
unspoiled
  desert dunes, green oases and miles of pristine sandy beaches.

  The ADTA will also use its Premier Partner status to showcase Abu
Dhabi’s
  ambitious plans to expand and diversify its tourism facilities,
including an
  increase in hotel capacity from 10,000 to 25,000 rooms by 2015. Many
of
  these new hotels will be in specially designated development zones
  incorporating residential, commercial and recreational and cultural
  facilities, including the Saadiyat Island mega-project adjacent to Abu
Dhabi
  city.

  There are also plans for a number of landmark stand-alone projects
from city
  hotels to desert retreats, island eco-resorts and other niche
developments
  throughout the emirate, as well as attractions such as several
additional
  championship golf courses and a new Formula 1 circuit to host the Abu
Dhabi
  Grand Prix from 2009.

  The ADTA emphasizes that the paramount consideration in all these
  developments will be to focus on world class quality and on
maintaining
  aesthetic, cultural and environmental harmony.

  Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market said that she is
delighted at
  the partnership.

  “Abu Dhabi is almost an untouched paradise but it is also rapidly
emerging
  as an impressive centre of culture and cosmopolitan chic. The ADTA’s

  cultural quest to ‘honour the past and celebrate the future’
synergises
  perfectly with the continual development of World Travel Market.”
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