Ferrari World developer forecasts 5% rise in number of visits to Yas Island

Miral Asset Management, the Abu Dhabi government-owned developer behind Yas Island’s main leisure attractions, forecasts 5 per cent annual growth in number of visits in 2019.

Miral recorded 28 million visits to Yas Island in 2018, up 3 per cent from 27 million in 2017, Mohamed Al Zaabi, chief executive of Miral said, during the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai yesterday.

Miral was set up by Abu Dhabi government in 2011 to manage the entertainment components of the 2.32 million square metre Yas Island, alongside statebacked real estate developer Aldar, which oversees the island’s residential and retail strategy.

Miral owns Yas Waterworld, Ferrari World and Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi theme parks.

“Bringing more international tourists to Abu Dhabi will be a game changer for us as it will grow our market share and help boost our visitor numbers,” said Mr Al Zaabi. “Absolutely, we want to continue growing these numbers as we invest in new attractions at Yas Island.”

The developer plans to open Clymb, an indoor-skydiving attraction in early 2020, and Yas Bay, a waterfront leisure destination housing the 18,000-capacity Yas Arena exhibition centre, which is under construction. In addition, Miral plans to open the Middle East’s first SeaWorld marine life park in 2022. The value of attractions under construction sits at around Dh6.2 billion, according to Mr Zaabi, and about 40 per cent of Yas Island has been built.

While Yas Island’s theme parks attract a varying split of overseas to domestic visitors, Miral aims to capitalise on recent growth in international tourist numbers to Abu Dhabi to reach 10.27 million visitors in 2018, according to official statistics from Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism in February.

The capital is investing in new cultural and entertainment offerings to boost its tourism sector as part of a push to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil revenues.

In addition to Louvre Abu Dhabi, which opened last year, the emirate has reopened its oldest building, the Qasr Al Hosn fort, as a museum.

India, China and the UK remained the top three source markets for tourists to Abu Dhabi in 2018. As part of its expansion Miral wants to “physically and digitally” connect the entertainment components of Yas Island, for example, through new online ticketing packages and innovative ways of transporting visitors, its chief executive said.

The company also wants to build an aerial cable car network to take visitors across the island to different attractions. Miral signed an agreement with the US’s skyTran in 2016 to discuss the feasibility of building the company’s elevated transit system at Yas Island.