India back in top place for visitors to Abu Dhabi as tourism increases

Guests staying at the emirate’s 163 hotels and hotel apartments rose by 11 per cent in the first half of the year.

A tourist takes a picture of the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

India recaptured its position as the top tourist source market for Abu Dhabi, even as overall visitor numbers climbed 17 per cent in the first half of the year.

Visitors from India grew by 18 per cent to 127,312, staying an average of 3.71 nights, above the overall average of 2.89 nights.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) said yesterday that visitor arrivals reached 1.98 million.

The authority in June increased its target for annual tourist visitors by 11 per cent to 3.9 million after a sharp rise in the number of Chinese arrivals and “staycationers” from other emirates.

Guest nights at the emirate’s 163 hotels and hotel apartments rose by 11 per cent to 5.72 million nights from the year-earlier period.

The number of guests in June increased by 2 per cent compared with a year-earlier period, with guest nights rising by 13 per cent.

TCA Abu Dhabi is also planning to beef up the events calendar in the capital to encourage tourists to stay longer.

“We remain committed to actively improve the average length of stay of our guests, which has fallen by 5 per cent over the comparable period in 2014,” said the acting director general Jasem Al Darmaki.

Domestic tourism accounted for a third of all guest arrivals in the first half of the year, growing 14 per cent year on year, particularly through stays in hotels in the Western Region.

Hotel and apartments revenue rose 8 per cent to Dh3.34 billion, while room revenue increased by 11 per cent, and food and beverage revenue grew by 1 per cent. Other revenue, which includes business events, jumped 22 per cent to Dh402 million.

The other source markets were the United Kingdom, China, Germany and the United States.

Visitors from the Philippines rose 24 per cent, while the number of Chinese guests soared 72 per cent to 102,217, although their length of stay dropped by 18 per cent to 1.46 nights.

The number of Russian visitors declined 10 per cent as the economic woes of Russia and the declining rouble continued to affect tourist arrivals.

Separately, Dubai Cruise Tourism has concluded a roadshow aimed at increasing Indian cruise travellers, who are the second biggest source market for the emirate.

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