Tag Archives: Abu Dhabi

The Latvian airline, airBaltic, in cooperation with Etihad Airways, has announced extension of the operating season of flights between Riga and Abu Dhabi in 2019. The flights will restart on October 28, 2018 and continue until April 29, 2019. Wolfgang Reuss, SVP, Network Management, airBaltic, said, “When we launched flights to Abu Dhabi last year, it instantly became one of the most demanded routes during the winter season. As more of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft are joining our fleet, we are now extending the operating season of these flights by additional two months in 2019. In addition to serving the point-to-point demand, the cooperation with Etihad Airways offers a multitude of travel options to the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Australasia,” Reuss added. This winter season, airBaltic will also continue flights from Riga to holiday destinations like Malaga, Madrid, Lisbon and Nice. airBaltic will restart flights from Riga to Abu Dhabi on October 28, 2018 and will operate the route 4 times weekly. Passengers will board an Airbus A220-300 aircraft for a flight that will last 6 hours and 15 minutes. One-way ticket prices start at 129 EUR, including airport fees and transaction costs. A full schedule of airBaltic flights can be found on the company’s homepage at www.airbaltic.com.

Emirates Holidays has partnered up with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to become the official tour operator for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The 17th edition of the continent’s prestigious football tournament will take place in the United Arab Emirates between January 5, 2019 and February 1, 2019.  Through the partnership, Emirates Holidays offers a broad range of excellent value packages to football fans traveling to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah to support their teams. Each package includes match ticket(s), accommodation and return flights with Emirates Airline. Robin Parry, Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said, “We are thrilled to become the official tour operator of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. Starting from today, supporters can seamlessly book match ticket, flight and accommodation with Emirates Holidays and enjoy the excellent travel experience our award-winning airline and reputable hotel partners offer. We see exciting opportunities for the company in sport tourism and continue to seek ways to accommodate the growing demand. We look forward to welcoming our football fan customers in the UAE.” Dato’ Windsor John, General Secretary, Asian Football Confederation, said, “Asian football continues to make giant strides on the world stage and the remarkable growth and stature of the AFC Asian Cup exemplifies the undeniable progress of football in the Continent. Emirates have been a long-standing partner of the AFC and we would like to thank them for their firm belief in the development and ever-improving proposition of Asian football.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has launched an advanced language-learning programme, which aims to support the tourism promotion operations carried out by the Department’s regional offices in 10 countries around the world. As part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s strategy to develop skills and competencies, the programme is designed to equip employees in overseas offices with the ability to better communicate, using their host country’s language. This includes six languages that represent Abu Dhabi’s top visitor source markets –  English, French, German, Hindi, Chinese and Arabic. Organised in collaboration with Berlitz International Language Institute, the programme offers a training period of at least two months in Abu Dhabi, and is a part of DCT Abu Dhabi’s series of advanced management training. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Communicating with international markets in their own mother tongue will significantly expand our overseas offices’ reach and the capability to promote Abu Dhabi internationally. We have received a promising response by using the languages of the countries we operate in, proving the importance of providing language classes to our employees to enable them to convey messages and deliver Abu Dhabi’s image to the world effectively. As language is as much about layers of cultural context and national history, this strategy stands as a very powerful tool for tourism promotion.” Mastering local languages is a highly effective tool in tourism promotion, and will further support DCT Abu Dhabi’s global positioning of the emirate as an exceptional destination for visitors and future investors.

Attracting visitors from across the region and beyond, the Abu Dhabi Summer Season (ADSS) will continue this week with an interactive and exciting programme offering both residents and visitors prizes, F&Bs special deals, shopping offers, line-up of events and shows, and amazing hotels deals. Due to popular demand, the summer bonanza will be now extended to 1st September, now taking in the Eid al Adha holiday. The ADSS Unbox the Amazing campaign will also be extended until September 1st, starting next weekend with Al Ain Mall on August 24 & 25. Relax and cool down for the rest of the summer in Abu Dhabi! Plan your staycation extravaganza with amazing hotel deals for an escape right on your doorstep. Enjoy your Eid holiday with the emirate’s most exclusive hotel deals and promotions, including savings on room nights, spa experiences, fitness centres, pool access, F&B and activities. Check out Tilal Liwa Hotel, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Yas Island Rotana and Centro Yas Island, Al Seef Resort & Spa by Andalus, Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana, Emirates Palace, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi and Bab Al Qasr Hotel, and more! Celebrate Eid Al Adha at Yas Marina, Yas Island and watch the spectacular fireworks at 9pm daily on the first three days of Eid. Exciting performances and games will be live across malls in Abu Dhabi and kids and families can experience circus parades, magic shows and more at Abu Dhabi Mall on 22 and 25 August; visit a four-day stage show and participate in activities from 21 to 24 August from 6pm-10pm at Bawadi Mall.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has launched a new manual to streamline the process of organising and implementing consumer fairs and exhibitions in the UAE capital. The new manual, which is available on DCT Abu Dhabi’s corporate website and Events Licensing System, covers such events as consumer exhibitions and events open to the public where products are sold and outlines best practices for ensuring each event offers an enhanced overall experience for visitors. The manual includes an explanation of the standards and procedures required to either maintain or improve facilities and services each event offers, as well as working in coordination with the DCT Abu Dhabi Events Licensing System, which provides a fast effective solution for registering and licensing all events held in Abu Dhabi. It incorporates a database for event type and information, category, speakers and activities, as well as containing indicators of tourism performance, growth orientations and of an event’s success and fulfillment of its set objectives. “This new manual lays out DCT Abu Dhabi’s recommended procedures for organising and presenting consumer fairs and exhibitions. This reflects our commitment to streamlining the process of hosting events here in Abu Dhabi, and we hope the manual will act as a catalyst for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium sized businesses with an interest in putting on events in the UAE capital,” said Nasser Al Rayami, Licence & Regulatory Compliance Department Director, DCT Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways has signed a commercial agreement with Warner Bros, announcing a three-year partnership encompassing several collaborations aimed at increasing tourism to Abu Dhabi. Opening on July 25, Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi will complement the wide range of award-winning leisure and entertainment attractions already on offer on Yas Island, reinforcing the island as a destination globally. Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi will feature a total of 29 state-of-the-art rides, interactive family-friendly attractions and unique live entertainment across six fully immersive lands. From the action and adrenaline-fuelled adventures of DC to the wacky and wonderful world of Warner Bros Animation – the 1.65 million sq. ft. park will offer captivating and interactive experiences, bringing together some of the world’s most iconic characters and stories under one roof for the first time in the region. As airline partner, Etihad Airways will work closely with Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi on areas of brand partnership, marketing, inflight programming, and travel trade support. Robin Kamark, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We are delighted to be the official airline partner of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. We continually look for ways to showcase the very best of Abu Dhabi as we bring international tourists from around the world to our home. This relationship will solidify our commitment in ensuring our guests have a memorable travel experience in the air and on the ground.”

The number of hotel guests staying in Abu Dhabi increased by 4.9 per cent during the first five months of 2018 compared to the same period last year. According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), 162 hotels, resorts and hotel apartments offering 31,236 rooms across the emirate welcomed 2,073,586 guests during January to May. The occupancy rate has averaged 75 per cent during the same period, with a 1.4 per cent increase, while the average length of stay was 2.7 nights, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, with China topping the number of visitors, recording 192,500 visitors, an increase of 19.9 per cent. India came in second with 166,700 guests and a 22.2 per cent increase, followed by the UK with 119,900 amounting to a 12.7 per cent increase, the United States with 82,300 guests and a 25.7 per cent increase, and Germany with 71,300 guests at a 20 per cent increase. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “These results demonstrate steady growth and prove Abu Dhabi’s ability to realise its strategic goals of positioning the emirate as a leading global destination through forward-looking marketing and promotional campaigns that seek to sustain growth.” While the Abu Dhabi Summer Season will run until August 18, the second half of 2018 will witness prominent events such as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Art in November, and the Abu Dhabi Food Festival in December.

The Embassy of Ireland in Abu Dhabi has opened UAE’s first external visa application centre in partnership with VFS Global. All non-UAE Nationals who are based in the UAE and require a visa to enter Ireland will no longer need to visit the Embassy. They should instead route their visa applications through VFS Global’s centre located in downtown Abu Dhabi. H E Paul Kavanagh, Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE, said, “The new external visa application centre will provide an excellent streamlined service for non-UAE Nationals who are based in the UAE and who require a visa in order to enter Ireland.” UAE Nationals wishing to visit Ireland are exempt from all visa requirements. The Ireland visa application centre in the UAE is the third outsourced processing centre of Ireland in the GCC region in partnership with VFS Global, which now operates such centres for Ireland in 15 countries across the world. The VFS Global visa application centre for Ireland in Abu Dhabi is located at Level 25, Shining Tower on Mubarak bin Mohammed Street next to Khalidiyah Mall. Visa applicants based in the UAE can direct their queries to the call centre number +971 4 2055910 or communicate with the centre via email at info.irelandUAE@vfshelpline.com.

Abu Dhabi has been ranked top in a list of cities in Africa and the Middle East in the McKinsey Global Institute’s study ‘Smart Cities: Digital Solutions for a More Livable Future.’ With a rating of 18.4, Abu Dhabi ranked first in the region ahead of Dubai, which was placed second with a rating of 17.3. Covering 50 international cities, the study looked at how cities all over the world use technology to increase the quality of life across a wide range of criteria, including healthcare, security, mobility, economic development and housing. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) said, “In today’s digital age, metropolitan cities in the world over are delivering creative ways in which data is used to reinvent the way their city is perceived, explored, interacted with and how services are delivered. Abu Dhabi ranking number one in the study is testimony to our ongoing efforts to establish the emirate as both a destination of distinction and a highly modern location in which international communities want to work, live and do business.”

A delegation led by the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau (ADCB) will attend The Meetings Show – the  event for the inbound and outbound meetings and event industry in the UK – in London on 27th and 28th June 2018, to raise awareness of the emirate as a world-class events, incentive and exhibition hub. The delegation will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 2,300 key buyers on the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau stand over the course of the two days, with the show expected to welcome over 4,800 meetings and events professionals. The UK is the leading European source market and the third largest overseas market for Abu Dhabi, having seen a rise of 13 per cent in UK visitors during 2017, where numbers reached 270,000. Figures for 2018 are looking healthy, with the first four months of the year registering a 13.7 per cent increase compared to 2017. This visit will be the fifth time the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau has participated in The Meetings Show, which each year generates countless event enquiries and exhibition leads for Abu Dhabi. “Each year we see great results from attending The Meetings Show in London, so we are very pleased to bring our 14 stakeholders to the show this year,’ said Sara Abdullah Al Aslai, the Conferences & Exhibitions Unit Head. “The UK market is an incredibly important one for us, with many leading British companies holding events and incentives in Abu Dhabi. However, we continue to strive to attract further interest from meeting and event professionals, and attending events like The Meetings Show in London enhances our presence within the industry.”