Abu Dhabi ranks first in global survey of top cities for a family holiday

Travelling with children isn’t always simple, with the shortest of trips often requiring extra thought and planning. But families thinking of a holiday to Abu Dhabi are in luck, as the emirate has just been ranked the world’s best city for a family getaway.

The Family Vacation Guide has released its 2022 index of the top cities to visit with kids.

Abu Dhabi tops the study, scoring 8.05 out of 10.

The capital of the UAE has the highest safety index score in the top 10, and also performs well for how many family-friendly attractions it has including the world's first Warner Bros hotel and several theme parks. It also scored highly for its sunshine-laced weather, which averages 13 hours per day in the sunniest month of the year.

Abu Dhabi's Yas Island has family-friendly hotels and plenty for little ones to see and do. Photo: Yas Island

Dubai is another great choice for a family getaway, ranking second in the 2022 Family Vacation Index with a score of 7.76.

Home to the world’s tallest building, plenty of resort-style hotels and several water parks, the emirate loses points for its higher-than-average hotel room rate, which is $124.50, compared to Abu Dhabi’s $94.50.

Third-placed Antalya in Turkey scores 6.27, and is lauded for its white beaches and incredible Mediterranean scenery.

The annual index from the travel website ranks destinations on 11 different factors including safety, pollution levels, number of family-friendly sights and attractions, and the average cost of a hotel room.

The top 20 cities for a family holiday

1. Abu Dhabi, UAE

2. Dubai, UAE

3. Antalya, Turkey

4. Madrid, Spain

5. Heraklion, Greece

6. Las Vegas, USA

7. Alicante, Spain

8. Singapore, Singapore

9. Cairo, Egypt

10. Melbourne, Australia

11. Bangkok, Thailand

12. Palma de Mallorca, Spain

13. San Diego, US

14. Marrakesh, Morocco

15. Lisbon, Portugal

16. Miami, US

17. Phuket, Thailand

17. Prague, Czech Republic

17. Istanbul, Turkey

20. Sydney, Australia

The research also reveals that the world’s safest city to visit with children is Sapporo in Japan, while the most affordable city for a family holiday is Bangkok, Thailand where average hotel rates are only $43 per night.

Thailand also performs well when it comes to things to do. Phuket — the smallest city in the index — ranks highest for family-friendly attractions with 115.92 sights or landmarks per square kilometre, meaning families visiting Thailand’s biggest island have more than 1,500 attractions to choose from.

For sun-seeking families, Cairo in Egypt and the US’s San Francisco top the list, each has 14 hours of sunlight a day in their sunniest month, giving travellers plenty of daylight hours to enjoy exploring.

When it comes to getting away for some fresh air, Switzerland’s Zurich is the best spot for a family trip. The Swiss city has the cleanest air in the index with a pollution score of only 17.58, thanks to the city’s substantial efforts to reduce its air pollution.

Inside the world’s first Warner Bros hotel in Abu Dhabi — in pictures

The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5

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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Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm

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'C'mon C'mon'

Director:Mike Mills

Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman

Rating: 4/5

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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'My Son'

Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”

Abu Dhabi ranks first in global survey of top cities for a family holiday

Dubai comes a close second in The Family Vacation Guide for 2022

The top 20 cities for a family holiday

Inside the world’s first Warner Bros hotel in Abu Dhabi — in pictures

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Our family matters legal consultant

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