Abu Dhabi sees growth from Europe despite euro

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) said that the emirate has continued to see growth from key European markets despite the weakening euro.

Sultan Al Daheri, TCA's acting executive director of tourism, said that Abu Dhabi has continued to see growth from France, Italy, and Germany as they recorded double-digit guest arrival growth last year compared to the year before.

"While it is still too early to identify trends in 2015, we remain committed to driving demand for the destination.

Although we do acknowledge higher costs could apply pressure on average length of stay, this could well be countered by an expected reduction in airfares due to the falling oil price, and an anticipated economic uplift in the Eurozone as a result of the lower Euro,” he said in an email interview with Gulf News.

With the UK showing a more buoyant picture, Al Daheri said that TCA was looking to step up its promotions there and increase marketing initiatives.

TCA has also recently extended its presence at the annual Belgrade Tourism Fair in Serbia, and is planning to be present in the Netherlands and Spain in 2015.

Discussing challenges in the hospitality industry, Al Daheri said they centred on length of stay, which has fallen just below three nights. In order to turn that around, TCA is looking to increase offerings in the emirate for what guests can see and do.

"[Another challenge is] global political instability, which can impact people's willingness to travel,” TCA's acting executive director of tourism said.

To counter that, the Authority is relying on visual references that show the UAE as a safe destination with various product offerings for visitors.