New five-year plan of ADTA likely to boost tourist entries into the capital

The authority is the first among 26 government departments to announce strategic plans as per the directives of the emirate’s executive councils, as a part of reform plan of its government services.

The ADTA Chairman, Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, said “Our five-year strategy indicates increase in expected tourist arrivals to 2.7mn visitors towards the year 2012, which represents 12.5 percent increase as compared to our previous estimates.”

The original target of ADTA was to increase the number of visitors to three million towards the year 2015. This figure is now under revision, as per the suggested increase in the five-year plan.

The Director-General of ADTA, Mubarak al Muhairi, emphasized that the emirate will target the high-end sector of the market. He revealed that hotel rooms too are expected to touch 25,000 in number, within five years as per the plan, exceeding the earlier projections by 4000 rooms.

The plan has been set after elaborate studies and close co-ordination with the Executive Council to develop the tourism sector in the UAE, which represents a major source of revenue to diversify the economy away from its dependence on oil and gas sectors.

According to Shaikh Sultan “The International tourism sector is likely to generate $8trillion worth of revenues this year, a figure, which will grow to $15trillion in a span of ten years till the year 2018, with an annual growth averaging 4.4%.”

“The sector will bring about 297 million jobs and contribute by 10.5% in the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he added.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism sector in the Middle East is the fastest growing, projecting an annual growth rate of 5.2% during the coming decade, surpassing America and Europe.

“This remarkable growth, together with the robust economic performance will convert Abu Dhabi to an international cultural, leisure, business and tourism destination,” said Shaikh Sultan.

Posted on 22/4/2008

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