Abu Dhabi will unleash a mammoth promotional charm offensive at this month’s British Grand Prix in Silverstone Circuit to drive ticket sales for November’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, said top tourism officials.

 

Yas Marina Circuit, host of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national carrier, and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), will leverage a raft of high-profile sponsorship activations, culture-rich destination awareness platforms, a fan competition and direct sales counters to encourage British motorsport fans at the UK race, running from June 27 to 30, to experience Abu Dhabi’s fifth GP in five months’ time.

 

“The international profile of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the UAE capital as its host city continues to grow at a tremendous pace,” remarked Richard Cregan, the chief executive officer of Yas Marina Circuit.

 

“Last year, we welcomed our largest international audience to date and this year, we are building upon that success through leveraging a wide array of marketing and sales initiatives to increase footfall from one of the emirate’s key international source markets,” he noted.

 

In addition to sponsoring the Whittlebury Park campsite neighbouring Silverstone, which will be renamed the Abu Dhabi Fan Zone, and offering free Wi-Fi and other complimentary amenities, 20,000 ‘Abu Dhabi gift bags’ will be distributed to race-going campers. 

 

Every bag will contain Etihad blankets, waterproof ponchos carrying the slogan ‘Abu Dhabi… Soaked in Sunshine’, and a Yas Marina Circuit-branded F1 Racing Magazine. A lucky bag containing tickets for a luxury trip for two to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – courtesy of title sponsor Etihad Airways - will be randomly distributed during the race weekend, said Cregan.

 

To proactively drive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ticket sales, Yas Marina Circuit will also operate a fan ticketing counter in the Fan Zone’s Atrium Building, where motorsport enthusiasts can purchase tickets and pose for pictures with an Etihad-branded F1show car throughout the weekend.

 

On Friday, Cregan will join host Peter Windsor on ‘The Race’s Edge’ radio programme for an hour-long live broadcast in the Abu Dhabi Fan Zone.

 

Elsewhere, an Abu Dhabi Pavilion will be erected at Whittlebury Park Golf Club on the road between the campsite and Silverstone Circuit. The pavilion will house a destination-themed Heritage Village featuring a falconer, henna artists and Arabic calligraphy artists. 

 

TCA Abu Dhabi, which is leading the pavilion activation, will also promote its award-winning website and encourage sign-up for its monthly destination newsletters by awarding a second luxury trip for two to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to a randomly selected new subscriber.-TradeArabia News Service