São Paulo – Abu Dhabi should show its attractions at the next edition of the World Travel Market Latin America, a tourism fair that takes place from April 23rd to 25th, in São Paulo. The objective is to promote the destination on the eve of inauguration of an Etihad Airways daily flight between the capital of the United Arab Emirates and São Paulo, in June.
According to Mubarak Al Nuaimi, the International Promotion director at the Tourism and Culture Authority of Abu Dhabi (TCA Abu Dhabi), the emirate’s pavilion should bring together representatives of different organisations and companies connected to tourism.
Apart from TCA and Etihad, there should be participation of hotel managers and resorts, like the Emirates Palace, the St. Regis Saadiyat Resort, the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi and Anantara Hotels & Resorts. The latter is responsible for three luxury hotel enterprises.
Also present will be Orient Tours operator and Yas Island, an entertainment complex that includes the Formula One circuit, Yas Viceroy hotel, within the race track, and theme park Ferrari World, among other attractions.
"We envisage the new air service will stimulate business growth between Brazil and Abu Dhabi and we hope to be able to capitalise on this by encouraging Brazilian participation, whether as exhibitor or visitor, in the many business events taking place in Abu Dhabi", said Nuaimi to ANBA by e-mail. "We also hope to attract Brazilians to spend a longer time in Abu Dhabi to make use of the cultural and leisure attractions the destination offers,” he added.
According to him, TCA plans to make use of opportunities at the fair to learn more about the Brazilian market, to know the needs of companies in the tourism sector here and consumer demands.
"We feel certain that the São Paulo – Abu Dhabi service planned by Etihad Airways will be a success as it will link two powerful international business centres. It will also open up new travel routes for Brazilian passengers wanted to transit Abu Dhabi to destinations further afield,” said the executive. “We will, of course, be encouraging these transit passengers to consider staying over in Abu Dhabi to get to know the destination better and begin to look upon it as a destination in its own right,” he pointed out.
Promotion of the emirate focuses on the diversity of attractions, which range from the traditional to the modern, from natural to futuristic, from simple to luxurious. Ancient forts live beside glass skyscrapers, the desert and its amusement parks, beaches with resorts and traditional markets with shops of famous foreign brands.
At the fair, according to Nuaimi, visitors may have their names written in Arabic by a calligrapher and women may have their hands decorated with henna, a tradition in the Emirates. Apart from the fair, TCA and Etihad plan to invite journalists to Abu Dhabi in the near future.
Further information
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
www.adta.ae
www.visitabudhabi.ae
World Travel Market Latin America
www.wtmlatinamerica.com
*Translated by Mark Ament
