Chinese tourists helped soar Abu Dhabi’s tourism arrivals in February, as government’s strategy to attract them is paying-off.
Abu Dhabi’s hotels saw a 33 per cent jump in guests last February with occupancy growing four per cent to 81 per cent year-on-year.
The biggest arrivals were monitored from Abu Dhabi’s traditional markets of UK, and India. But, the arrivals of some 22,577 Chinese who checked into the emirate’s hotels in the first two months of the year, has given confidence to the local hospitality industry. The number of arrivals grew a whopping 182 per cent year-on-year.
Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) numbers show that a total of 262,193 guests checked into the emirate’s accommodation during February, delivering a 21 per cent month-on-month rise in guest nights to 815,718.
However, Abu Dhabi Airports has reported a 15.6 per cent year-on-year increase in passenger traffic during the same month at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Jasem Al Darmaki, deputy director general, TCA Abu Dhabi linked the growth in Chinese tourism to new year celebrations which were organised in the emirate’s hotels and shopping malls and especially Al Maryah Island organised events at a grand scale that attracted tourists. “It is a time of year we will focus on in the future,” Al Darmaki said. Sharing his thoughts, Dominique Hebert, general manager of Centro Capital Centre & Centro Al Manhal agreed that this increase was due to the Chinese New Year, which brought in many Chinese people to celebrate this very special occasion outside their country. Describing factors that have boosted Chinese arrivals into Abu Dhabi, Hebert said that the average earning of the Chinese people is getting higher which is now allowing them to travel abroad and spend on lavish holidays.
Click here to read more.
Source: Chinese visitors boost Abu Dhabi tourism in February [Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg http://investing.businessweek.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201404010334KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_26731_40489-1 published Apr 01, 2014. Viewed Apr 02, 2014.