Abu Dhabi records 20% rise in visitors in first four months of 2015

The number of guest arriving in Abu Dhabi increased by 20 per cent year-on-year during the first four months of 2015, according to new figures released by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.

Over 1.37 million guests stayed in the emirate’s 161 hotels and hotel apartments between January and April this year.

They delivered over 3.8 million guest nights, an increase of 11 per cent on the same period in 2014, prompting the authority to increase the total 2015 guest arrivals target from 3.5 million to 3.9 million.

Domestic tourism from within the UAE remained the main source of hotel guests, accounting for a 44 per cent share of all arrivals.

Abu Dhabi also recorded a growth in arrivals from China with guest numbers reaching 79,713 – up 75 per cent year-on-year. China has now become the third largest overseas market for the emirate.

The UK remained the leading European market with arrivals up 17 per cent. Visitor numbers from India grew 16 per cent to 79,793 during the same period.

The US also recorded an increase of 34 per cent in guest arrivals to 55,570 between January and April.

Further growth is expected throughout 2015 from the United States due to increasing airline capacity, pre-entry customs clearance and an anticipated boost in destination awareness on the back of the Furious 7 and latest Star Wars movies, the authority said.

Arrivals from Saudi Arabia rose 46 per cent making the kingdom the sixth largest international market, behind the UK, India, China, Germany and the US.

Hotel occupancy for the January-April period stood at 79 per cent while revenue from hotel establishments recorded a 12 per cent year-on-year increase to Dhs2,431bn.

Room revenue increased by 16 per cent while food and beverage revenue increased by 3 per cent, the TCA Abu Dhabi said.

Abu Dhabi has been aggressively looking to grow its tourism sector and is investing heavily in developing museums such as the Louvre, the Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum to expand its cultural offering.

The emirate is also hosting several events including the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the Red Bull Air Race, the Abu Dhabi Classics and the Abu Dhabi Food Festival to lure more visitors.