India top market for Ajman
The Ajman Department of Tourism Development is encouraged by the numbers it sees from the India market and wants to further develop this market – not just leisure but weddings and M!CE as well – to capture a bigger share of this pie. For this, it is also working on creating an events calendar with its partners from the private sector in Ajman.
H.E. Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi, Director General, Ajman Department of Tourism Development (ADTD), was in Mumbai recently to promote Ajman as a tourist destination. He says, “The numbers from India are encouraging for us. It is number two in terms of tourist arrivals, and second only to the UAE. We see a lot more potential and, therefore, we are here to develop the market further. Year on year we are seeing more than 5 million people visiting UAE from India and some percentage of that is visiting Ajman.” ADTD recently completed a three-city networking evening series in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Delhi was covered earlier this year.
Neeti Sharma, Director, Intrepid Marketing & Communications, adds, “We are delighted to showcase Ajman to the travel fraternity in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad
and Mumbai through the three-city networking evenings. It has been an absolute honour for us to have H.E. Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi grace the occasion and convey Ajman’s readiness for the India market. Ajman is host to luxury accommodations, experiences close to nature and holidays that can be enjoyed at one’s own pace.
A perfect place to enjoy a short honeymoon, a family holiday or hosting an Indian wedding, Ajman caters to all. In the coming months we aim to successfully establish Ajman’s footprint in India.”
Underlining the importance of this market, Amr Morsy, Tourism Development & Marketing Expert,
ADTD, shares, “India is our main international source market. We are receiving more than 65,000 visitors from India and it is growing year on year. The Indian market represents 12 per cent of the total market mix into Ajman. According to our figures, the number of international arrivals into Ajman for the first time exceeded the local/ Indian UAE residents this year. This is a very good indication, which shows that Ajman is now on the tourist map for Indians.”
He added that the NTO’s main focus is on the leisure segment but it is also looking at developing and improving weddings, events and M!CE segments from India. Ajman Tourism is also developing its events calendar. “For this, we are also working with our partners from the private sector in order to come up with ideas and projects to support these segments,” Morsy adds.