Events driving increased tourist arrivals from India: ADTA

Just five months after it held its first road show in India, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) recently organised a five-city roadshow – in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru – to strengthen its B2B relationship with its second largest international market. “It is a fast moving market and we want to have a continual presence and feel the need to extend our coverage. In the last few months we have seen very strong growth from India, specially for events like Formula 1 and Volvo Ocean Race and exhibitions,” said Dayne Lim Kok Chun, product development division director, ADTA, adding that the growth in the last quarter of 2011 has exceeded their expectations. This year ADTA is looking at a ballpark growth rate of 25 to 30 per cent.

Other events in Abu Dhabi is expected to attract a lot of Indian visitors in the next few months are Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2012, Abu Dhabi Festival (for classical music), World Ophthalmology Congress, and others. He pointed out that while the target clientele for some of these events will obviously be more niche than the others, but many will have wider audience. “For example you don't have to be a motor sport fan to attend a Formula 1 event, any one can enjoy gourmet festival and appreciate music. So I think the key thing is how do we get the word out, and find a way either through Etihad or our distribution partners on how we package and promote these events,” he said adding that they are still working on the strategy. “With publicity it will be better in terms of finding partners for different segments. That's one of the key objectives of this roadshow. We want to work with tour operators here to do some levels of packaging, distribution and promotion in the market itself,” averred Chun.

India is the second largest source market for hotels in Abu Dhabi. The clientele ranges from VFR, honeymooners, families during school holidays, FITs during long weekend, corporate meetings and exhibition visitors from India. “It is a very pervasive market across different demographics and segments. We are very bullish about India like everyone else is and we in a good position and will continue to work hard to nurture this market,” added Chun.

The ADTA roadshow in India will be an annual event organised at this time of the year. The participants this year were Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi headquartered Rotana Group, DBA and Sons (inbound tour operators), Aloft Abu Dhabi, Cristal Hotels & Resorts,