Hotel guests to all three regions of Abu Dhabi increased in total by 5 per cent in September, compared to the same month last year, with 415,985 domestic and international visitors checking in to one of the emirate’s 163 hotels or hotel apartments.

Figures released by the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi showed increases in hotel guest numbers - 14 per cent in the Al Dhafra Region, 8 per cent in the Al Ain Region and 4 per cent in Abu Dhabi city - with a total occupancy rate of 69 per cent. Guest nights also increased by 15 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

September’s rise has maintained the emirate’s 7 per cent increase over the year so far in the numbers of hotel guests staying in the emirate, leaving it on track to surpass 2016’s total of 4.4 million guests.

While September saw a slight drop in domestic tourists into Abu Dhabi, the month was marked by a surge in Chinese hotel guests, recording a highly impressive increase of 133 per cent in comparison to September 2016. The rise to more than 28,000 Chinese guests in the month can be attributed to extensive marketing across China carried out by the department and the granting of visas on arrival to Chinese nationals from the start of the year.

India remained the largest international source market, with more than 33,000 hotel guests during the month, while the UK was third behind China, showing a 5 percent rise.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, director-general, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, said, "Globally, we have invested heavily in marketing Abu Dhabi as a destination of distinction, the perfect place to visit and explore, with an emphasis on an emirate steeped in history, culture and heritage. Our strategy is to highlight that Abu Dhabi has a wealth of natural and man-made attractions across all regions to entertain and excite the whole family while providing luxurious yet affordable choices of accommodation.

"China is showing outstanding growth for us and we have a long-term target of bringing 600,000 Chinese hotel guests a year to the emirate by 2021. To drive that kind of successful growth we recently ran our first ‘Abu Dhabi Week' in China initiative to encourage even more businesses, partners and stakeholders to work with us in promoting the emirate. This promotional and marketing event, held in conjunction with our overseas offices, has also been rolled-out to India in October and November, with activity in Mumbai and Delhi to help drive inbound tourism. We anticipate these weeks celebrating the best of Abu Dhabi becoming annual fixtures, with more cities in both countries being added to the agenda as we progress."

September also witnessed growth in hotel guests from the US, a rise of 30 per cent compared to 2016, and from Germany, where there was a 20 per cent increase.

With immense global interest being shown in the opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island on November 11, the department is forecasting a strong end to the year, this being a traditionally busy time marked by an extensive set of events, including the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi Food Festival, Al Dhafra Festival, the recently announced Dar Al Zain Festival in Al Ain, NYE Countdown Village in Abu Dhabi, and the ongoing Abu Dhabi Classics international concert series.

The new 2017/18 cruise season, which launched towards the end of October, is also expected to have a positive impact on visitor and hotel guest arrivals into the emirate during the last quarter of the year, with passenger numbers anticipated to rise 5 percent from last season’s total of 346,000 passengers. - TradeArabia News Service