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Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and leading members of the destination's tourism industry will be in Bahrain this month during a five-country GCC road show aimed at strengthening trade ties and boosting consumer awareness of the emirate's expanding visitor offering.
The road show, which will include representatives of Abu Dhabi's hotels, tour operators, meetings venue providers and airlines, will take place in Manama tomorrow. It will include a media conference and trade and VIP presentation dinners.
The move is part of a renewed focus on the GCC market, which currently represents 10 per cent of all Abu Dhabi's inbound international hotel guests.
"The GCC, as markets on our doorstep characterised by a propensity to travel locally during challenging times, is vitally important as Abu Dhabi moves forward in its aim of becoming an international destination of distinction and of attracting 2.3 million hotel guests annually by 2012," said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, ADTA's manager international promotions, who will head the delegation to Bahrain.
"We believe Abu Dhabi has strong appeal within the GCC where it is known for its safety, its rich culture, its wide family accommodation choice, service quality and appreciation of Arabian Gulf visitor needs.
"This supports a diverse landscape of beaches, islands, oases, city centres and stunning desert and an expanding cultural offering including guided tours of the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque and exhibitions devoted to the planned international museums for Saadiyat Island."
The road show will also look to engage the Bahrain travel trade and public in the upcoming 'Summer In Abu Dhabi' family carnival which will run from July 1 - August 15 and is triple the size of last year's event.
"The carnival will centre around seven fully air-conditioned halls in the vast and ultra-modern Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre," explained Mr Al Nuaimi.
'Summer In Abu Dhabi' is just one event being promoted by the roadshow which will outline the emirate's growing international event calendar headlined by November's hosting of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Grand Prix and December's Fifa World Clubs Cup 2009 soccer championship.
Budget airline Bahrain Air now offers eight flights a week to the UAE capital.
