Etihad Airways has designated 2011 ‘the year of Abu Dhabi’ with the launch of its ‘Essential Abu Dhabi’ destination marketing campaign. Designed to enhance Abu Dhabi’s place as a top tourist and MICE destination, the campaign will see Etihad unveil a number of exciting promotional activities around the globe.
All the major tourism operators in the emirate of Abu Dhabi have come together for the first time under one promotional umbrella to showcase the very best UAE’s capital has to offer.
Hotels, tour operators, dining outlets, shops, adventure parks, cultural attractions and sports facilities are providing a range of offers to entice tourists and business travelers alike, to spend time in Abu Dhabi with substantial discount offers and deals.
Travelers must have flown on Etihad Airways to access the promotional offers. Then all they need do to redeem the offers is present an Etihad ‘pass to magic’ boarding pass at participating outlets within seven days of arriving in Abu Dhabi.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Etihad plays a hugely important role in bringing visitors to Abu Dhabi, and Essential Abu Dhabi will give extra momentum to our efforts to promote the capital as one of the world’s best destinations.
“We have had a fantastic response from Abu Dhabi’s hotels and attractions, and are excited to be working in tandem with people who are as passionate about promoting our home base as we are.
“We will be promoting Essential Abu Dhabi in all of our overseas destinations, as well as online and in-flight, and refreshing the program’s special offers regularly so that frequent visitors will always have something new to look forward to.”
The campaign features a dedicated website – essentialabudahbi.com – backed with brochures featuring the exclusive offers on board all Etihad aircraft. The program will be supported with an international marketing campaign co-funded by all the partners; as well as being promoted through all partner outlets and sales channels.
The campaign is being supported by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority as a major partner and demonstrates the commitment of the entire local tourism industry to work effectively together to promote Abu Dhabi as a major global destination.
As well as appealing to visitors planning a trip to the UAE, the program is also targeting the millions of passengers transiting through the Abu Dhabi hub, to entice them to stopover in the city for a few nights. Free stopover room nights will be made available to such passengers in the near future.
Offers will be updated every two to three months, and the number of participating outlets is expected to grow from the initial 36 to over 100 by the end of the year.
