Abu Dhabi set to emerge as cultural citadel as tourist numbers soar

Tourism experts credit the growth to both the expansion in routes by Etihad, and significant foreign investment in Europe.

ABU DHABI // More tourists are flocking to Abu Dhabi from outside the region as the city’s international profile grows.

Hotel guests rose from 2.11 million in 2011 to 2.38 million in 2012, according to the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi, while those guests from outside the Arab region increased by 32.6 per cent over the same period.

Tourism experts credit the growth to the expansion in routes by Etihad Airways and significant foreign investment in Europe.

"The growth in Etihad has gone hand in hand with the expansion of Abu Dhabi as a tourism destination," said Premjit Bangara, manager at Sharaf Travel in Dubai.

“They’ve opened up new routes to Europe, to North America, to the Asian subcontinent and Australia. You will see a lot more new markets identified, with a lot more people transiting Abu Dhabi, and staying there too. It’s like what Emirates has done to Dubai and continues to do so.”

Mr Bangara said his company had noticed an 18 per cent growth year-on-year in travel to Abu Dhabi.

Gaurav Sinha, a travel analyst in Dubai, said the growth was the result of a coordinated effort.

“When policies, infrastructure, people and investment integrate seamlessly, destinations become profoundly attractive for travel and tourism,” he said.

"Abu Dhabi is an example of such a destination as we see Etihad Airways opening new routes, new hotels opening their doors to visitors, more talent delivers higher service standards and we see a surge in leisure attractions.

“With its deliberate initiatives to embrace the arts, the capital of the UAE is poised to become the cultural capital of the region and this will complement an increase in inbound travellers to all emirates.

“Recent liberal visa regulations for European countries will also improve accessibility for tourists and the fast-emerging middle classes in Asia and Africa are looking for short-haul destinations that offer first world experiences.”

The number of hotels has risen from 77 to 130 between 2007 and 2012, according to Scad’s Explore Abu Dhabi report, which was released recently.

The annual number of guests increased from 1.44 million to 2.38 million during that period. While the number of rooms rose from 10,192 to 21,997, the average occupancy rate declined from 81.4 per cent to 65.2 per cent.

The report emphasised that tourism was to become a key plank of the emirate’s diversification strategy from the oil and gas sectors.

“The emirate of Abu Dhabi is moving towards the development of the tourism sector as one of the key pillars of economic development,” the report said.