Abu Dhabi aims to lure more transit passengers into the city with cheaper hotel rates and other perks.
Etihad Airways has signed deals with 45 tour operators worldwide, as the capital aims to capture more transit passenger tourism.
The agreements cover 23 countries and include partnerships with global names such as Thomas Cook and TUI.
The airline’s Stopover in Abu Dhabi programme includes the capital’s top five source markets — India, Russia, China, Germany and the United Kingdom — besides smaller markets such as Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Nigeria and Vietnam. Travellers need to stay a minimum of two nights to qualify for a free stopover, transit visa and preferential room rates.
“The first 23 countries were chosen on the basis of their performance and their potential,” said Peter Baumgartner, the chief commercial officer at Etihad. By the middle of next year, the carrier expects to cover all the 55 countries it serves.
Travellers with Etihad and its equity partner airlines, such as India’s Jet Airways and Italy’s Alitalia, can break their journeys in Abu Dhabi to tap packages starting at US$36 per person for two nights at Ibis Abu Dhabi Gate Hotel. The prices go up to $268 for a stay at Emirates Palace hotel.
Competitive prices are also helping to sell Abu Dhabi's hotel rooms. In December, the average room rate in Abu Dhabi reached $170.37, up from $157.85 a year ago, according to TRI Consulting's monthly HotStats report.
That was compared to $375.11 in Dubai, an increase of 0.4 per cent, according to HotStats, which surveys internationally branded four and five-star hotels.
About 50 three, four and five-star hotels, are participating in the Etihad programme. It includes a free 96-hour transit visa, and offers a shuttle service to Dubai for a stopover.
The emirate expects to attract 3.5 million tourists this year.
In keeping with its tourism target it has 25 hotels in various stages of construction, accounting for 7,673 rooms, according to the consultancy STR Global last month. The emirate had 156 hotels and hotel apartments as of November.
Officials from Yas Island destination management are heading to New Delhi’s three-day South Asian Travel and Tourism Exhibition, which opens today.
India was the emirate’s largest source market with 207,136 visitors, a 31 per cent rise year-on-year, during the first nine months of last year. Etihad has more than 200 return flights a week between Abu Dhabi and India, along with Jet Airways.
Yas Island expects to host some of India’s key business events, including during the summer.
Yas Mall, which opened in November, and new rides at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi pulled in 20 per cent more visitors from India, according to Clive Dwyer, the director of destination management at Yas Island. Actual visitor numbers were not disclosed.
During the first nine months of last year, guests stayed an average of three nights in Abu Dhabi.
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