Thousands to visit Abu Dhabi summer festival

Over 10,000 visitors were expected to enjoy the activities and performances on the Summer in Abu Dhabi festival\'s opening weekend, a top official at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) said. \"We are expecting the total number of visitors to this year\'s festival to be approximately 75,000, with 30 per cent being tourists from the GCC,\" Faisal Al Shaikh, ADTA Events Manager, said. The one-month indoor festival which began on Thursday is taking place in three halls in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). This year\'s theme is focused more on the little ones with 96 activities that offer children a chance to enjoy circus performances, discover their dream career, take part in sporting games, watch live shows and interact with their favourite cartoon characters. Article continues below \"One feature that we are proud to highlight is the premiere of the world\'s only Smurf Village, which has 12 activities including storytelling, painting, jewellery-making as well as a music section and an area where children can sit and watch episodes from the popular cartoon show,\" Al Shaikh said. Popular section \"All the elements for the village were provided to us by IMPS, the Belgian parent company [that controls the rights of the Smurf brand worldwide]…and it is sure to be the most popular section of the festival, as the characters are well known and loved by everyone,\" he added. To encourage visitors, ADTA has partnered up with hotels and other organisations across the emirate to offer a wide variety of packages and offers. \"This year, we collaborated with 12 travel agencies in addition to having special hotel packages and offers for various activities across the emirate, such as special entry rates for Ferrari World and the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Zoo because we want to enhance the experience of visitors to this year\'s Summer in Abu Dhabi,\" Al Shaikh said. \"As a result, hotel occupancy levels are already up by 25 per cent compared to last year, with the possibility of additional occupancies during the festival,\" he added. According to the families that spoke to Gulf News, this year\'s festival is already shaping up to be better and brighter than its previous editions, with many indicating that they would return to Adnec before the festival closes. \"I\'ve visited the previous two editions and must say that I\'m very impressed with the way things are laid out and organised this year,\" said Ashley Costello, a British expatriate.