Capital aims for the leisurely visitor

Abu Dhabi has launched a multimillion-dirham international advertising campaign in a drive to attract more leisure tourists to Abu Dhabi.

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Peter Willaton is glad he stopped over in Abu Dhabi for two days on his way to New York. The Australian owner of Multifix Constructions, a civil engineering company in Brisbane, heard about the Emirates' capital after chatting with friends. Now he plans to return to Abu Dhabi in the next 12 months and is even considering buying a home here.

"People are beginning to know more about Abu Dhabi than Dubai because of recent publicity," Mr Willaton, 39, says, referring to last year's Formula One Grand Prix on Yas Island and the acquisition of the English Premier League club Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed. "I'm definitely coming back here within the next 12 months and I would even buy [a home] here. I always wanted to come to Abu Dhabi."

Mr Willaton stayed at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel across the water from the Sheikh Zayed Mosque with his daughter Mikkayla, 9, and visited the usual tourist haunts such as the Emirates Palace and Marina Mall. Next time, he may even take a balloon ride over the desert north of Al Ain or take in a speedboat sightseeing trip. What is certain is that Mr Willaton fits into the category of visitors the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is desperate to attract with a new international television advertising campaign aimed at "young couples, families and empty nesters from higher socio-economic groups".

By branding the captial as a tourist hotspot, the ADTA hopes to increase the number of visitors to the emirate to about 2.3 million, from 1.5 million, by 2012. About 80 per cent of the current number are business travellers. With 5,000 new hotel rooms coming on stream in the next 12 months to go alongside the 4,000 opened last year, the foundations have been laid for a leisure tourist industry in Abu Dhabi after years of just catering for business travellers.

"Before you go out and advertise, you have to be ready," says Noel Massoud, the chief executive of International Hotel Consultants and Jinan Hotels and Resorts, based in Abu Dhabi. "As you can see with Yas Island, with the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, with all those projects around, this will improve Abu Dhabi's status. Two or three years ago you couldn't go hard on advertising and promoting because the hotel rooms were not in place to accommodate tourists."

In the past, Abu Dhabi had little to offer tourists, but this is changing rapidly with attractions such as the Ferrari World theme park and Links golf course due to open this year on the US$40 billion (Dh146.91bn) Yas Island development. Yas has already hosted the Grand Prix, which attracted more than 50,000 visitors in November. The flagship Saadiyat Island development will be another must-see destination, and will eventually house the Guggenheim and Louvre museums. Abu Dhabi paid $1.3bn for the Louvre deal.

"A couple of years ago Abu Dhabi wasn't really known as a destination, then it got serious about creating a tourism product," says Dr Ian Michael, the professor of marketing at Zayed University in Dubai. Last year some 20 hotels were opened in Abu Dhabi, ranging from five to three-star, and that helped bring down rates, making it more affordable as a tourist destination. "There is no doubt that the many sectors of the tourism industry are working together more actively to create, package and deliver value for money in Abu Dhabi," says Lawrence Franklin, the director of strategy and policy at ADTA. "Despite the globally challenging tourism environment, Abu Dhabi as a destination is now well placed to roll out consumer-orientated destination marketing."

Zahia Shahal, 53, from Lebanon, knows very little about the marketing strategy, but loves the city after making a second trip to the capital. "They are on the right track, on target," Ms Shahal, who is retired, says. "It's a really nice city." But others are not so sure. Amad Naeem, 30, an engineer from Pakistan, feels Abu Dhabi still has little to offer as a tourist attraction and prefers Dubai, with its abundant restaurants and high-octane nightlife.

"There are more destinations in Dubai to enjoy such as entertainment and numerous restaurants," says Mr Naeem. But Dr Michael stresses that Abu Dhabi is aiming for a different market. "I think that, as well as luxurious, they are trying to be unique compared to Dubai," he says. "They are doing a lot of strategic alliances with existing attractions, for example the Louvre museum. They are trying to be a little bit different from Dubai." It certainly worked for Mr Willaton during his 48-hour trip. "I'm glad I came," he says. "I'll be back." @Email:[e-mail] [e-mail]

Lawrence Franklin, the director of policy and strategy at ADTA, talks with Rebecca Bundhun Do you consider yourself to be in competition with Dubai for tourists? aNo, we do not treat Dubai as a competitor. There is an undeniable relationship between the two destinations, not the least of which is the strong day-trip market, which goes both ways. We do, however, target different markets and, to a large degree, market differently and offer different experiences. Why does Abu Dhabi want to expand into the tourist market, especially since business travellers tend to spend more? Leisure tourism is an important part of any segmented tourism portfolio. Abu Dhabi has increasingly been delivering leisure tourism products with recent additions such as Qasr Al Sarab, Desert Islands and the hotels on Yas Island being good examples. Building leisure tourism in tandem with the continued expansion of our business tourism market will deliver sustainable demand and longer lengths of stay. What percentage of visitors to Abu Dhabi are leisure tourists? The information we have would indicate a split of around 70 per cent business and 30 per cent leisure. What sort of tourists are you looking to attract to Abu Dhabi? Detailed information on our current visitor profile is limited. However, this will soon be remedied as we begin to deliver the results of our new visitor survey. Our information on hotel guests shows that the UAE and GCC are important source markets, particularly among families. Europe is still an important source market, despite falls, with the UK, Germany, France and Italy being key. Leisure visitors from these markets tend to be higher-income couples and families. Other significant and growing markets are Australia, China, Russia and India. Increasingly, South East Asia is also growing as a source market. Visiting friends and relatives is another key area, the extent of which will be revealed for the first time by our visitor survey. This is well aligned with our leisure market target - young couples, families and empty-nesters from higher socio-economic groups, good levels of education and with a desire to travel for enriching experiences. How do you intend to promote the capital as a year-round destination and plan for the summer months? The strategy will be to focus on activities and experiences which can be delivered in comfort, such as the Summer in Abu Dhabi family carnival. Abu Dhabi is well adapted to the summer months compared with cooler destinations, with its network of airconditioned facilities, landscaped areas and waterways. Other destinations in the emirate, such as the Eastern Region and Al Ain, with cooler temperatures and less humidity, also come to the fore at this time. How much does the average tourist spend in Abu Dhabi? Our average hotel-based expenditure is: UK visitors Dh4,400 (£730); Australian Dh3,180 (A$935), and Saudi Dh1,800 (1,838 riyals).

Yas Island Ferrari World, billed as the largest indoor theme park in the world, is a major attraction due to open later this year as part of Aldar's US$40 billion (Dh146.91bn) Yas Island development and will have the world's fastest roller coaster. The theme park has the capacity to host 10,000 visitors a day. Ferrari World will have more than 20 amusement rides, including two roller coasters that race each other. Other features include racing car simulators based on those used by Formula One drivers, as well as six restaurants and cafes and shops selling Ferrari merchandise. A Links golf course is also set to open on Yas Island soon. There are plans for more than 20 hotels on Yas, ranging from three to five stars. Seven have been built so far, catering for 2,250 guests. Saadiyat Island Saadiyat is one of Abu Dhabi's flagship developments. Covering 27 square km and expected to be completed in phases up until 2020, the plans are for 29 luxury hotels, marinas with berths for 1,000 boats, two championship golf courses and the Louvre and Guggenheim museums. A $27bn price tag was originally put on the project, but this is said to have changed because of lower construction costs and alterations to the original plans. Qasr Al Sarab Set in the dunes of the Liwa desert, the luxury Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, which opened in October, was developed by Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company to show off the emirate's scenery and heritage. The resort is managed by Anantara, the management company based in Thailand that specialises in luxury, nature-based cultural resorts. This is the first five-star luxury resort in the expanse of desert known as the Empty Quarter. Visitors can participate in camel trekking, desert tours and archery. Sir Bani Yas Island This nature-based sanctuary has a 64-room boutique desert resort and spa. The island is home to about 23 species of free-roaming animals, including giraffes, antelope and the endangered Arabian oryx. The island has attracted 25,000 visitors in the first year up to last November. Out of this figure, 17,000 stayed at the luxury Desert Islands Resort. Activities on offer at the resort include game drives, mountain biking, kayaking and snorkelling. * Rebecca Bundhun