Staff Reporter / 17 August 2013

Following a recent tie-up between two major airlines from the UAE and India, a new campaign has been launched to get more Indian tourists into Abu Dhabi.

The month-long campaign, launched by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA), together with international leisure travel company TUI, is now the authority’s top priority and aims to convince people from the subcontinent to spend their holidays here.

The campaign is based in New Delhi, where ADTCA opened an office there earlier this year, and it is the first large-scale operation in India since the office set-up.

“With much more to see and do in Abu Dhabi, as well as increased air access from the country following Etihad Airways’ equity stake in Jet Airways, we expect to see strong growth in the number of Indian guests choosing the emirate as their preferred holiday destination,” said ADTCA India country manager Bejan Dinshaw.

Dubbed ‘Abu Dhabi Month’, the campaign, which runs throughout August in the TUI flagship store, will see a number of marketing and online activations staged, including in-store branding as well as Abu Dhabi banners on the TUI website and a joint e-marketing campaign.  In the first six months of 2013, some 80,179 Indian nationals stayed in Abu Dhabi’s 145 hotels and hotel apartments — a 22 per cent rise on the same period in the previous year.

TUI India executive director Sunil Hasija said robust growth to Abu Dhabi from India was evidence of the emirate’s rapidly evolving leisure and business tourism offering.

“We see Abu Dhabi as a destination with tremendous potential for tourism. We wish to leverage our relationship with the authority to tap customers and position Abu Dhabi as a vibrant destination in the UAE.”

Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationgeneral/2013/August/nationgeneral_August157.xml&section=nationgeneral