India to be biggest market for Abu Dhabi tourism by 2014: Mubarak Al Nuaimi

Interview with international promotions manager, tourism and culture authority, Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi opened its first destination promotion office in India, eyeing biggest source market overseas for hotel guests in 2014. In conversation with Ruchika Chitravanshi, Mubarak Al Nuaimi, international promotions manager, tourism and culture authority, Abu Dhabi, spoke about his India dreams. Edited Excerpts:

Why did you decide to enter Indian market only now?
We have been thinking of entering India for a long time. But we were not able to get the right people. We now have our country manager on board. Besides, we had to be ready with the visa processes in place and get the hotel inventory ready. Also we feel now is the right time. We are starting the New Year with launch of the Indian office. For us, this is the tenth country we have set up our office in.

How are you planning to promote Abu Dhabi in India?
We are planning to take up a lot of marketing and promotions activity through road shows, advertising. We will also be taking part in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exhibition for the fourth year this time.  You can gauge our aspirations of the market by the fact that we are launching our first international road show for 2013 and we chose to have it in India.

What is your target audience?
We see potential in all segments. We want to make our destination appealing to women and kids. One of the main growth areas, however, for us would be meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE).

What is the annual tourist inflow from India and how big is this market for you?
India figures in the top five tourism generating countries for Abu Dhabi. Last year, we had 125,000 hotel guests alone from India. We are expecting a 30 per cent increase in the tourist numbers from India this year. . We have reaped dividends from our toe in the water approach with India now being our second largest overseas market for hotel guests after UK. Should the growth trends continue India will be our largest source market in 2014 and be key in achieving the target of 2.5 million hotel guests in 2013.

Are you exploring the option of promoting Abu Dhabi through Bollywood especially after the Hollywood flick Sex and the City featured the destination?
In fact we are in talks with Bollywood and a couple of films will be shot in Abu Dhabi. They are still finalizing things. But it is a very good way to promote any destination.