Abu Dhabi showcases its growing reputation as unique destination at Arabian Travel Market

29 Apr 2025 01:03
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (Abu Dhabi) The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) kicked off in Dubai on Monday, bringing together tourism delegations, companies and professionals from over 166 countries. Expected to attract over 55,000 guests, the conference has become a popular platform for countries to and companies to collaborate and promote their credentials as tourist destinations. At the event, running until May 1, the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism and Culture (DCT) has marketed the city - and continues to boost its reputation - as a travel hub.Over the past few years, Abu Dhabi has steadily differentiated itself from neighbouring cities like Dubai with its exclusive cultural and leisure offerings. As, DCT Chairman, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, told Aletihad at a roundtable talk earlier this month, Abu Dhabi offers visitors a truly unique experience."If you look at it from an experiential perspective, from a visitor, the amount of experiences… it really puts us in a big differentiating pool with the rest," he said. "I'm a family man, I've got four kids, I can come and visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi, or I can actually start even earlier. I can go to the beach. In any of our natural beaches, we have over 200, play volleyball, whatever the case may be."Let's say we get there at eight o'clock in the morning. By 10, we're done. I can be at a museum. By 6.30pm, I can take them to a theatre, and I can drop the kids back at 9pm. I can take my wife across town for a steak. You really can't do that in any other city because of just how it's built."According to Mubarak, the emirate is investing in many of the cultural institutions - including the Zayed National Museum, a natural history museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi - as a strategy to help inspire Emiratis and residents first and foremost, with tourism as a welcome additional benefit. This strategy is seemingly working, in tandem with a busy entertainment event calendar which this year includes international comedy acts like Bill Burr and Dave Chappelle as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Season, as well as performers like rapper Nas at Bred Abu Dhabi – the capital is attracting more tourists than ever before.According to DCT, Abu Dhabi welcomed 1.4 million overnight guests in the first quarter of the year, reflecting sustained growth compared to the same period last year. Hotels generated Dh2.3 billion in revenue, an 18% increase compared to the same period last year, and the industry as a whole is on track to reach the goal of contributing Dh62 billion to the economy in 2025. At this year's ATM, the capital will highlight these successes whilst giving visitors a chance to see the vision for the future of Abu Dhabi as a unique destination.This year's ATM is set to include several key themes including the rise of AI in Tourism, and the increasing popularity of luxury travel – an segment in which Abu Dhabi is increasingly featuring.
In alignment with ATM 2025's theme of Developing Tomorrow's Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity, the Experience Abu Dhabi stand is showcasing everything the emirate has to offer, joined by 73 key trade and tourism partners from across the emirate.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Al Etihad

4 hours ago

• Al Etihad

Meta's ‘Teen Accounts' in UAE explained: Stricter privacy rules rolled out for under-16 Instagram users

22 June 2025 22:18 Khaled Al Khawaldeh (Abu Dhabi) Meta has launched its 'Teen Accounts' feature for Instagram in the UAE, positioning the nation as one of the first in the region to benefit from enhanced online safety measures for adolescents. The move reflects the UAE's commitment to advancing digital wellbeing as part of its broader vision for a safe and balanced digital society. The rollout, announced during a youth-focused summit in Dubai last week, aligns closely with national efforts to promote online safety among the youth. How Does It Work? Instagram Teen Accounts introduce a range of built-in safeguards specifically designed to protect users under the age of 16. Among the key features are stricter privacy controls that automatically set teen profiles to private, ensuring that only approved followers can view posts and interact with their messaging is also limited so that teens can receive messages only from followers they have accepted. Sensitive content filters are set at the highest restriction levels, shielding teens from violent, sexual, or harmful material. Additionally, new interaction settings prevent strangers from tagging or mentioning teen users. These changes are aimed at reducing exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate online encounters. Another notable feature is the introduction of time management tools. Teens in the UAE will now see prompts encouraging them to take breaks after 60 minutes of daily usage. Notifications are automatically silenced overnight, between 10 pm and 7 am, to support healthy digital habits and better sleep hygiene.'Instagram Teen Accounts reflect the importance of tailoring teens' online experiences to their developmental stages, and implementing appropriate protections,' Rachel Rodgers, PhD Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, said in a statement.'Younger adolescents are more vulnerable as their skills are still emerging and require additional safeguards and protection. Overall, the settings are age-specific, with younger and older teens being offered different protections.' Digital Safety DriveThe UAE's inclusion in this regional-first rollout underscores its leadership in online safety initiatives, according to Lt. General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, during the feature's announcement. The country has been at the forefront of digital governance through initiatives like the National Programme for Digital Wellbeing, led by the Digital Wellbeing have long emphasised the need to protect children and teenagers from the risks associated with excessive or unsafe social media use. The collaboration between Meta and local stakeholders, including government bodies, educators, and parent advocates, is seen as a natural extension of these efforts. Parents' Involvement While Teen Accounts automatically introduce new protections, many parents in the UAE are eager to take a more active role in their children's online experiences. In response, Meta is enhancing its supervision tools to give families greater oversight. Parents will now be able to see who their teen has messaged over the past seven days, though they won't have access to the content of those conversations. They can also set daily time limits for how long their teen can use Instagram, with the app becoming inaccessible once the limit is reached. In addition, parents have the option to block Instagram usage during specific periods, such as nighttime hours, with a single click. To further support informed guidance, Meta is also allowing parents to view the age-appropriate topics their teen has selected to explore, helping them better understand their child's online interests and preferences. What If Teens Misrepresent Their Age? Some teens may attempt to bypass protections by misrepresenting their age. To address this, the company is requiring age verification in more places across the platform and is developing technology to proactively identify accounts that belong to teens, even if those accounts list an adult birth date. This technology will allow Meta to automatically apply Teen Account protections to suspected underage users. The strategy replaces an earlier measure that required age verification for accounts attempting to switch to an adult birthday, which had unintended consequences, such as inadvertently locking out some parents who shared devices with their teens. Alongside these enforcement efforts, Meta is also enhancing its safeguards to ensure teens see age-appropriate content. The platform applies strict rules to remove content that violates its standards and limits the recommendation of sensitive material, including sexually suggestive posts or content related to suicide, self-harm, or sextortion risks.

Filipino Times

9 hours ago

• Filipino Times

PH Embassy in UAE invites Filipino community to visit Juan Luna's Una Bulaqueña at Louvre Abu Dhabi

The Philippine Embassy in the UAE warmly invites the Filipino community to visit the iconic painting Una Bulaqueña by revered painter and sculptor Juan Luna, currently on display at Louvre Abu Dhabi. In an interview, His Excellency Alfonso Ferdinand A. Ver, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, encouraged the overseas Filipinos, especially the schoolchildren, to take advantage of this unique opportunity to experience a national treasure that celebrates Filipino heritage and artistry on the international stage. 'We are very glad that Una Bulaqueña is here. It is a product of the cooperation between our two countries and our pride in showing the genius of the Filipino,' the Ambassador said on the sidelines of the Philippine Independence Day celebration in Abu Dhabi. 'So it's here, and I invite all of you, we're inviting all the schoolchildren, please, through your schools, pumunta kayo. 'Yung mga administrator, bibigyan namin kayo ng ticket. 'Yung mga bata naman libre,' he added. According to Louvre Abu Dhabi's official website, all visitors under 18 years old can enter free of charge. 'It's not just a matter of pride, but it's a real work of art that you should appreciate. It attaches you to our Philippine history and culture, and it's something that you can be proud of and probably even inspire you,' Ambassador Ver said. He also highlighted the significance of Saadiyat Island as a global cultural hub, hosting not only the Louvre Abu Dhabi, but also the interfaith complex Abrahamic Family House, and the upcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum. Una Bulaqueña, an oil painting depicting a young woman from Bulacan dressed in traditional Filipino attire, will be exhibited until June 2026. This collaboration marks the first direct partnership between Louvre Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of the Philippines, symbolizing the strengthening cultural ties between the UAE and the Philippines. 'I'm so proud that because of our cultural ties, we have a cultural agreement with the UAE. One of the fruits and the results of that is a loan of one of our national treasures in the very prestigious Louvre Abu Dhabi here in Saadiyat Island,' Ambassador Ver said. Painted in 1895, Una Bulaqueña was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2008. The artwork is a striking blend of European artistic techniques and Filipino identity during the Spanish colonial period.

Khaleej Times

a day ago

• Khaleej Times

8 dead in hot air balloon accident in Brazil, officials say

At least eight people were killed after a hot-air balloon carrying 21 passengers crashed on Saturday in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, local and state officials said. The tourism balloon caught fire during the flight in early morning hours, crashing in the city of Praia Grande, according to the state fire department. Thirteen survivors were transported to nearby hospitals, according to the fire department.