New figures from the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, show that emirate welcomed 1.6 million guests in the first quarter of 2017, recording a 7 percent growth compared to the same period last year.
The month of April has continued to build on the strong performance of the opening quarter of the year, posting a year-on-year increase of 15 percent in hotel guest arrivals. Each of the six international tier-one markets of China, India, the United Kingdom, UK, the United States, US, Germany and Saudi Arabia have shown growth. Domestic numbers also grew impressively in April to reach 130,000. Each of the emirate’s three districts – Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra regions – have experienced an upturn in arrivals.
Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of TCA Abu Dhabi, said, “Efforts to stimulate interest in our destinations continue unabated and we are encouraged by our latest hotel guest arrival results, which show strong progress. As we expand our year-round programme of events and develop new cultural and family attractions, we expect even greater traction in enticing people to explore the emirate.
“Our inaugural Culture Summit in April brought together leaders of the world’s art, media and cultural policy communities from 80 countries, while the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair attracted more than 300,000 visitors. Both these events contributed to highlighting our vision of developing the emirate into a thriving cultural hub and a global cultural destination,” he added.
