Abu Dhabi // High-adrenalin action is not just confined to the Formula One circuit this weekend. Other Yas Island attractions are also expected to see an influx of thrillseekers.
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi expects to see a “significant increase” in visitors over the F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, according to the general manager, Mike Oswald.
“Obviously we are very excited about F1 because it does add a lot of excitement to the park and adds a lot of attendance as well.
“It is definitely an increase in F1 fans that are coming from abroad. We get a lot of people coming to the F1 from all over the place but GCC is a significant increase,” he said, adding that a lot of people also come from Europe.
It is not just when the Grand Prix is on that traffic to the park increases, the event also boosts numbers for the rest of the year.
“One of the incredible things about the F1 is the exposure that it gives, not only Ferrari World, but Yas Island and Abu Dhabi as a whole.
“You get tremendous coverage on television and they do show Ferrari World because it is such an incredible structure.
“Of course the people that are here, they come to the park, they go back, tell their friends. Then, of course, if you get celebrities that come to the park then they tweet about the park and their incredible time. It adds a lot of exposure to the park that we don’t get at any other time,” said Mr Oswald.
Singers performing in the concerts at F1 often visit the attraction, which is home to the fastest rollercoaster in the world, he said.
“We have had in the past different people from royal families that have come to the park, from Europe.
“Just celebrities in general. If you look at F1 it draws a really awesome kind of crowd that those people that are celebrities like to be around, so they tend to come to Abu Dhabi and come to Ferrari World.”
The attraction extended its opening to seven days a week at the end of September. It was previously closed on Mondays.
The decision was made due to “a tremendous amount of demand”, said the general manager.
“It has exceeded our expectations immediately. We will build momentum as people find out that we are open on Mondays but it has been a very good decision for us.”
This is the first F1 weekend for Yas Waterworld, which opened in January and it is also expecting a boost in visitor numbers.
“There are a lot of guests coming to Yas Island, so a lot of them tend to have a longer stay than just during F1. So, definitely before and after, we expect a lot of those people to come to the parks. So, it should be a good weekend,” said Mr Oswald, who is also general manager of the waterpark.
It is also expected to benefit from its high-profile location.
“It’s so visible from outside the F1 venue so there will be a lot of people that go by and just say ‘hey, that looks awesome, I should go in’.”
Yas Island is proving to be a popular destination for UAE residents and tourists alike, says Mr Karim El Guanaini, vice president of Yas Island Destination Management.
“We have witnessed enormous growth in the number of tourists coming to Yas Island, with the opening of Yas Waterworld and Yas Beach in January 2013 and the increasing demand for tourism and business in the region,” he said.
There were more than three million visitors to Yas Island last year. Early signs for this year indicate about four million visitors by the end of the year, he said.
“We attribute this to the widening of the attractions and the recognition that Yas Island is increasingly growing from a regional destination to a global one.”
ecleland@thenational.ae
