Commemorating its extraordinaire feat for the Indian travelers, Abu Dhabi has marked a successful 8.2% growth to the UAE Capital in India followed suit by exciting new initiatives by the city. PEAKLIFE speaks with Saeed Al Saeed Destination Marketing Director, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi.
A dune of paradise with beaches, history, culture, and hospitality – Abu Dhabi is the hub for all extraordinaire of memories and experiences. Marking a new milestone this year, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi celebrates nearly 4,50,000 guests an 8.2% growth since last year, following its exciting new initiatives for travelers.
“India has long been a priority for DCT Abu Dhabi, and the Indian market will certainly play a prime role in shaping our strategy for the future as well. There will be consistent marketing investment in India to position Abu Dhabi as the go-to destination for Indian travelers throughout the year” says Saeed Al Saeed, Destination Marketing Director, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi.
In conversation with Saeed Al Saeed, PEAKLIFE scoops in on what the board has in a plan in terms of the Indian and traveler’s perspective for the highly anticipated and sought after – EXPO 2020, happening on October 20th.
Q. Talking about Dubai Expo 2020, how is Abu Dhabi looking at in terms of tourism and new trade policies?
With the Expo we consider it as another added asset and attraction to Abu Dhabi’s landscape. It is 45 minutes away from the city, even less than that to the airport to Abu Dhabi and we expect that people will find it very easy to stay in Abu Dhabi to visit the expo and vice versa. We are also partnering with the Expo when it comes to marketing the expo itself. We go along with them on road trips’ when they go to different target countries that we are at and we take them with us to speak about Expo as an option for people visiting Abu Dhabi to enjoy.
Q. What does Abu Dhabi have to offer its tourists from India?
It depends. We always look at what the traveler is interested in first before we can recommend anything. Generally, it will always depend on the lifestyle of the individual and their current status, so the experience of a father or mother with kids will be completely different than if it’s a solo female traveler which again would be completely different than the driven businessman who only has two hours after his meetings to enjoy the city. So, for us, we try not to limit and funnel people into a specific experience. We just know that we have something for everyone in Abu Dhabi.
Q. Anything specific the tourists could experience?
If it’s a family with kids, there’s an entertainment district designed specifically to make sure that the family doesn’t need to commute and move around to enjoy the theme parks that are in a specific place. For example, Yas Islands has Warner Brothers World, Yas Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, and Clymb – all within a square kilometer of each other and next to the mall, next to the hotel as well as the Golf Course. That’s all within one district. Similarly, for the culture seekers who want to have more of knowledgeable experience and expand their awareness about the historic world by looking at the cultural offering, we are building the Cultural District to make sure that that same equation is also there for the cultural travelers as well. So, for me to say that this is my recommendation wouldn’t be fair because that would be what I would like to do and not necessarily what the visitor would like to do. But we do have something for everyone in Abu Dhabi.
Q. Talking about the hospitality at Abu Dhabi, how would you describe the services?
We have almost 170 hotels in Abu Dhabi which equates to almost 33,000 rooms available, ranging from the topmost luxury offerings to the affordable budget offerings as well, with things like serviced apartments which would be a bit more of an option for a big family. We have some nice serviced apartments offered as well. I think that the decision will go back to the visitor based on their budget, their requirement, and what they would like to experience.
Q. In terms for safety and security of the city, how secure is the city of travellers with family?
So, Abu Dhabi has been named the safest city in the world for three years in a row now. If there is one thing that we’re most confident of is that yes, it is completely safe. I have seen people leave luxury and bags on restaurant tables, forget them for a few hours and come back. It’s something from real life that I have seen myself and it’s definitely something that we take for granted as people who live there because when we go to other countries and we do things like that, it doesn’t work out the same way.
Q. If you want to design an itinerary for a small family of two kids, mom and a father, what would you suggest they should do?
Wake up in the hotel, have breakfast, go to the Louvre. There is a children’s section in the Louvre itself where they can do some sort of activities. Maybe have lunch in the mall and then visit WB. Spend maybe 3-4 hours there. Go back to the hotel to relax a bit, depending on the ages of the children. Maybe if some of them need sleep. If not, then you can go to the desert for stargazing. That’s the first day done.
For the second day, I can give you a thousand itineraries but really it does depend on what the interest of the individual is. One thing that I do highly recommend for everyone to experience is if they can go to see the Yas Island which used to be the private reserve for late highness Shaikh Zayed – the founder of our country where he had a conservation program for the Gazelles and the Arabian Oryx. It was too successful because they overpopulated the island, so they needed to do population control. Now you can go there and have safaris and enjoy it to the maximum.
Q. Talking about the Expo, in terms of business expectation, what is the number that you’re expecting of Indian travelers?
It’s very difficult to say. Those numbers will be probably more accurate from the Expo team themselves. For us, we are going about it as business as usual and whatever comes from Expo is just added value for us. We’re not quantifying it in any way.
Q. What is the current figure from India and World?
From an Indian visitor’s perspective, we had 4,50,000 individuals from India to visit Abu Dhabi. This year we are expecting 5,00,000.
Q. In terms of MICE, what kinds of amenities do the hotels in Abu Dhabi provide?
From a facility perspective, we have one of the largest convention centers of the world which are called the ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre) and it gives you a space of 133,000 square meters if I am not mistaken. It is a unique venue because it is U shaped which means you can open the entire space for an exhibition. Usually, spaces are more segmented and fragmented, this one is a continuous exhibition space. The other one that’s coming up is the Tad Arena which will be opened next month I believe, and it’s a space for 18,000 seating capacity as an arena. It is again multi-use. This is other than the hotel facilities. I am not getting into that because every hotel has its own convention centers and exhibition halls.
Q. How does Abu Dhabi Tourism contribute to sustainability?
We have a very solid environmental agency in Abu Dhabi that makes sure that everything is done keeping in mind our natural ecosystem as a priority. We obviously do our best to inform the stakeholders and to make sure that they are following the best practices and to ensure that any development is not impacting any wildlife, any flora and fauna negatively.
So, a good example of this would be some of the beaches in Saadiyat where you are not allowed to come with your boats because those are territorial nesting grounds so they are protected areas where human visitors can’t just go and walk around on the beach because we know that turtles come and lay their eggs and then hatchings come out of little baby turtles. So, we want to make sure that these species are protected. Another one is on the marine ecology site. Even if you just look at Google Map in the user menu you see about marine reserve you’ll see that you’re not allowed to go fishing in, you’re not allowed to anchor in, you’re not allowed to do many things. These are thriving ecosystems of the marine line that we want to protect because we know that we have endangered species like the Dugong and the Sea Cow. Earlier it was confused for the mermaids back in the day, lived in Abu Dhabi and we try to protect those species as well. There are the mangrove trees that are all over Abu Dhabi and there are specific mandates to plan even more because they are the lungs of Abu Dhabi. They are very good carbon filters for the air and water.
Q. So, these mangroves are they in addition to what was there, or these were certain initiatives started by the Govt.?
So, these mangroves exist as a part of the natural landscape, but the government is adding more and more.
Q. If someone is traveling from India, what would be the easiest way to get around in Abu Dhabi?
The best way to do is to rent a car. There are many rental agencies available. It’s not going to be an issue and there is no limitation at all. There is no barrier. We have some of the safest highways in the world with 7-8 lane highways. In total, we have 14 lanes for both sides of the highway.
Q. So, these mangroves are they in addition to what was there, or these were certain initiatives started by the Govt.?
So, these mangroves exist as a part of the natural landscape, but the government is adding more and more.
Q. One suggestion you would like to give to the visitors coming for the Expo and to Abu Dhabi?
If they are coming specifically for the Expo, it’s going to be very easy and convenient to visit the Louvre and I think that’s the experience that they should definitely do and Yes the list is endless you can plan your way.
