The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) will this week highlight the emirate’s tourist attractions at the World Travel Market (WTM) exhibition in London, following the launch of its “Extraordinary Stories” global destination advertising campaign last week.
TCA Abu Dhabi will be joined by representatives from leading hotels, resorts, attractions and tour operators in Abu Dhabi, along with representatives from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Etihad Airways.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals are expected to attend WTM, which opens tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday.
“Last year, the UK was the highest contributor of hotel guests into the emirate from the European market, and the third-highest globally,” said TCA Abu Dhabi’s director general, Saif Saeed Ghobash.
“In 2015 our British visitors’ generated more than 950,000 guest nights, which we will strive to improve upon as we progress to becoming a year-round destination. For the past three years the UK has recorded a double-digit growth percentage.”
UK visitor numbers for the year so far are already 3 per cent higher than the 231,337 visitors last year, Mr Ghobash said.
TCA Abu Dhabi’s attendance at WTM comes a week after the authority rolled out its Extraordinary Stories promotional campaign worldwide, highlighting the emirate’s cultural, sporting and natural attractions, targeting core markets including India, China, the UK, Germany and the United States.
Abu Dhabi received 3.2 million visitors during the first nine months this year, up 9 per cent from the same period last year. The average length of stay decreased by 6 per cent during the period, despite hotel room rates falling by 10 per cent.
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
