Etihad Airways is promoting 48-hour stopovers in Abu Dhabi with free hotel stays for premium-class passengers.
Peter Baumgartner, the airline’s chief executive, said the launch of its comprehensive stopover programme would highlight “the emirate’s sophisticated infrastructure, the hospitality of the Emirati people, and its beautiful landscape”.
“It is the perfect stopover destination for those flying through Abu Dhabi and an ideal domestic getaway for those living in the wider UAE,” he said.
Business-class passengers who choose to stopover in Abu Dhabi will get a complimentary night’s stay, while first-class travellers receive two free nights, Etihad said today. Passengers flying in The Residence cabin onboard the Airbus A380 will get a free two-night stay at the Emirates Palace hotel.
On Monday, Abu Dhabi’s Tourism & Culture Authority, said the total number of hotel guests increased 4 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with a year earlier. New visa-on-arrival regulations introduced last year resulted in the number of Chinese tourists staying in Abu Dhabi hotels increasing by 48 per cent to 138,747.
The visa rules were likewise eased for Russians this year, and in the first quarter the number of Russian visitors staying in Abu Dhabi hotels increased 41 per cent to 48,207.
However, the TCA said that despite the surge in Chinese and Russian visitors, other key source markets were hit by currency fluctuations.
The operator of Abu Dhabi International airport reported on Monday that 6.15 million passengers travelled through the hub in the first quarter, up 1.8 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.
According to the Abu Dhabi Airports figures, the year-on-year growth in passenger numbers has slowed from 9.5 per cent reported in the first quarter of 2016 and 21.1 per cent reported in Q1 2015.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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