Triumphant Abu Dhabi
Dave BondThe spot lights were on Abu Dhabi last weekend at the World Travel Awards as the event saw the Tourism Authority of the emirate be honoured with the title of the World’s Leading Tourist Board.
Ahmed Hussein, the deputy director general of ADTA, said during a visit to the World Travel Market in London, that the World’s Leading Tourist Board award represented the highest achievement for his organisation.
Mr Hussein expressed his delight in the ADTA being recognised by travel experts worldwide for its high standards which helps Abu Dhabi access the desired rank of one of the leading tourism destinations on the planet.
He added that Abu Dhabi had enjoyed popularity with corporate travellers and being recognised as a top leisure destination was an amazing honour. He said the emirate will see many new hotels being launched in the near future, such as the Qasr al Sarab, which will be in the middle of the emirate’s Empty Quarter, 240kms from Abu Dhabi. The Empty Quarter is the largest uninterrupted body of sand in the world, and this hotel will be located in the middle of nowhere, similar to an oasis.
Next year is promising to be a very active period for Abu Dhabi as it is scheduled to host several important international caliber events. These include the first Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, the 20th anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and the World Green Tourism Congress, booked for December 2010 in the UAE capital.
Of course, people can expect a repeat of this year’s successful Formula 1 race.
Officials at ADTA said that Abu Dhabi should see the equal number of visitors as in 2008, with about 1.5 million hotel guests. The ADTA has a goal of a 10% rise in tourist numbers for 2010, and a 15% increase for both 2011 and 2012, with 2.3 million hotel guests.
The emirate has had a good experience at this year’s edition of the World Travel Awards since the Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad was awarded with two prizes at the ceremonies.
The airline was honoured with the World’s Leading Airline and the World’s Leading First Class awards.
The World Travel Awards welcomed almost 800 tourism and travel players for what is seen as the most important to award ceremony in the industry. Polling was carried out with 180,000 industry professionals deciding on winners in 200 various categories.
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Filed under Travel News, World News