Abu Dhabi Targets North American Travel Market Growth

Abu Dhabi is digging deeper into the North American outbound travel market, including the trade, in an attempt to become a bigger international destination for U.S. and Canadian consumers.

Travel Market Report met with Haitham Ali Khamis, Aviation, Cruise, and Global Partnerships Section Head for International Operations, and Daniela Theelen, Travel Trade and Market Development Unit Head for North America at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, to discuss the destination’s strategy for growing inbound tourism from North America.

Abu Dhabi has had a presence in North America since 2012 but recently appointed MMGY to lead representation in the region with a clear mandate: engage with travel advisors and educate the trade on the opportunity for inbound tourism to Abu Dhabi.

Currently, the largest inbound markets to Abu Dhabi are China and India, with others in Europe, including the U.K., not far behind. The goal is to get the U.S. into those same categories.

“The U.S. has always been a Tier 1 market for us,” Haitham Ali Khamis, section head for aviation, cruise, and global partnerships for DCT Abu Dhabi, told TMR. “It’s going to be a key focus for us going forward.”

“I think it’s an awareness challenge,” Khamis added. “Abu Dhabi is one of the safest destinations in the world with a strong airlift and a wide range of experiences. But many U.S. travelers still don’t fully understand where it is, how to get there, or what their options are once they arrive.”

Air and Hotel Challenges

The biggest part of the challenge in growing inbound tourism to Abu Dhabi is airlift, which is improving, Khamis said. A new direct flight from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on Etihad will launch July 2, giving the region its fifth U.S. gateway. The others are Chicago, Washington, Boston and New York, all serviced by Etihad.

Another challenge is replicating the travel patterns that North Americans typically follow when visiting Europe—multiple destinations across the region over an extended period of time. That comes down to working with other destinations in the region to make longer trips viable, and then communicating those opportunities to North American advisors.

One area where the region is not challenged is hotels. At the moment, Abu Dhabi has close to 34,000 hotel rooms, and the goal is to increase that to 52,000 by 2030.

Khamis told TMR that the plan is for much of that expansion to come outside the traditional hotel segment—home shares, villas and other alternatives—though growth is also planned in the hotel space. That includes the new Mandarin Oriental Downtown, the second Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi and the third in the UAE, which will open in June.

Also opening this year: Ciel, Vignette Collection by IHG Hotels; Straylight Yas, Vignette Collection; and The Mondrian Abu Dhabi.

Opportunity in Cruise

Khamis noted that cruise tourism is another major opportunity, despite recent geopolitical issues in the region.

“Despite the geopolitical issues around the Red Sea, we still welcomed over 600,000 cruise visitors last year,” he said. “That’s massive for us—we didn’t expect it.”

He added that several cruise lines are still committed to Abu Dhabi, rerouting ships around the Cape of Good Hope just to reach the Arabian Gulf.

“That shows they see the potential and are dedicated to the destination.”

While international world cruises that typically make single stops in the region were more limited last year, Khamis said the ongoing commitment from cruise lines like MSC and Celestyal reflects strong industry confidence in the region’s potential.

The most notable recent move was a new three-year-deal between Abu Dhabi Tourism and Celestyal Cruises. As part of that deal, Celestyal will promote Abu Dhabi among its guests while strengthening its commitment to the region.