Yas ties up with Expedia.com to target Arabian Gulf, US and UK travellers

Yas Island destinations tie up with Expedia.com for online audience.

Above, the Formula Rossa roller coaster ride at the Ferrari World theme park in Abu Dhabi. Users of expedia.com can now book their tickets to the theme park. Duncan Chard / Bloomberg News

Yas Island has tied up with the online travel booking company Expedia.com to market the Abu Dhabi tourist destination to a wider audience.

The tie-up will continue through March and targets the Arabian Gulf, the United States and the United Kingdom through Expedia.co.uk.

“We launched it to reach out to prospective travellers around the world who are planning to visit or showing interest in visiting the UAE,” said Karim El Guanaini, the vice president of Yas Island Destination Management.

His agency will promote a range of attractions including the 8,000 capacity indoor du Forum and the 20,000 capacity outdoor du Arena.

As part of the campaign, Expedia will host the Yas Island Abu Dhabi Store – the first of its kind on the travel portal.

Online users can book their stay at the seven hotels on the island, airport transfers, tickets to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and other events.

The choice of the Gulf and the UK for the promotion campaign were simple as these are some of the biggest feeder markets for the UAE, said Manav Fernandez, the chief operating officer of the Dubai-based marketing firm Insignia.

“A lot of Gulf nationals prefer to come to the UAE because culturally it’s all in the right place,” he said. “It is interesting to see the United States as a choice as it has only been a few years that it is opening up to the Gulf. Naturally, they are trying to capitalise on that.”

Some of the biggest source markets for Abu Dhabi, such as India, Russia and China, have been overlooked in this campaign.

Germany and India, however, will be the next countries that Yas Island Destination Management will target on Expedia, Mr El Guanaini said.