ABU Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority will lead 7 of its partners in a suite representing Abu Dhabi as a tourism destination at the Jeddah Intl. Tourism & Travel Exhibition from today (Feb. 3) to Friday (Feb. 5). The exhibition will witness the presence of more than 150 tourism and travel agencies, airlines companies and vacation program organizers in the Kingdom. Abu Dhabi delegation includes top players from hotels, airlines, attractions, tour operators, travels agencies and other players. Sultan Ali Al Mansoori, KSA Country manager, said: "Verily the participation of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority in the exhibition for the second time in a row focuses on presenting the products, entertainment facilities, and family vacation programs to targeted clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as shedding lights on a wide range of activities and events embraced by the Emirate in the year round." He added: "This promotional initiative gains an additional important incentive with the Kingdom's ranking on the top of the list of the largest global tourism markets for Abu Dhabi, where the Saudi guest visiting its hotels amounted notably to 21% last year (135,135 guests, spending 310,423 hotel nights at growth rate of 27% compared to 2014)". The destination takes the advantage of the proximity of the geographical location, ease of access by land or air as well as the common traditions and culture that bring Saudi and Emirati societies together. This makes the Emirate the destination of choice for visitors from the Kingdom, either for spending an enjoyable holiday, discovering ancient heritage and cultural landmarks or attending business events and meetings. Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority has taken wide leaps towards activating the movement of Saudi tourism to the Emirate, where it manages an office for representing the tourism destination in such major regional market. The office works in building a cooperative relationship with travel agents, external vacations organizers and the concerned areas of meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions and media in the Kingdom, to provide them with all available tourism opportunities in Abu Dhabi. Al Mansoori also said:" Our office in Jeddah focuses on enhancing the partnership ties with the channels that distribute our tourism programs in the Kingdom as well as developing programs and offers that meet the privacy of the Saudi family." The scheduled flights between Saudi major cities and Abu Dhabi international airport witness steadily growth. These flights are operated by Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, Saudi Arabian Airlines and NAS Air.
