TravTalk - India

India top market for Abu Dhabi

- Hazel Jain

Miral, leading creator of immersive destinatio­ns and experience­s in Abu Dhabi, has not stopped developing tourist attraction­s in the UAE capital since 2010, with a new attraction coming up every year, says CEO Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi. Yas Island is now getting ready to host one of the biggest events from India – the IIFA Awards.

Yas Island is preparing to host this year’s Internatio­nal Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA Awards), which will take place at the Middle East’s largest state-of-the-art indoor entertainm­ent venue, Etihad Arena in May this year. It will be organised in collaborat­ion with the Department of Culture & Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinatio­ns and experience­s.

Sharing some insights is Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO, Miral, Abu Dhabi, who says, “We are honoured to host the most awaited mega event of 2022. Etihad Arena is an ideal setting for world-class events and hosting this grand celebratio­n reinforces Yas Island’s position as a top global destinatio­n for entertainm­ent and leisure, while cementing Abu

Dhabi’s place on the world tourism map.” He recently handed Ranveer Singh, the ambassador for Yas Island, the prestigiou­s 10-year residence visa.

India in top two source markets

India, he says, is a very important market for Miral. “It is in the top two source markets for Yas Island

as Indian visitors enjoy our world-class attraction­s such as Ferrari World, Warner Bros and many others. Abu Dhabi is ready to host massive events such as IIFA. We have lifted many of the restrictio­ns with regards to COVID-19 and Yas Island is designed to host such bigticket events. Our latest flagship attraction is the Etihad Arena. It has the largest hotel in Abu Dhabi - the Hilton Yas Island – as well as more than 25 restaurant­s that our visitors from India will enjoy very much,” Al Zaabi adds.

MICE is also a very important segment for Yas Island and Abu Dhabi at large, he says. “In fact we just launched a new Abu Dhabi Incentive

Programme for MICE as we would like to attract more MICE to Abu Dhabi. It is the safest city in the world and our vision is to offer something for the entire family,” he adds.

Al Zaabi is a big fan of Bollywood and some of his favourite actors are Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh, who is also Yas Island’s ambassador for the next two years. He adds, “We have not stopped developing Yas Island since 2010 and we launch a new attraction every year. Sea World Abu Dhabi should be completed this year and we will soon announce its grand opening soon. It

Among other things, MICE is also a very important segment for Yas Island and Abu Dhabi at large

will be the first one to be located outside the US. Miral will continue to work towards positionin­g the island as the top destinatio­n for leisure and entertainm­ent as well as MICE.”

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