The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has signed a series of strategic partnerships at Arabian Travel Market 2025, targeted to drive tourism growth and enhance visitor experiences across key international markets.
The new initiatives span collaborations with leading travel operators, hotel groups, and destination management companies, and will focus on attracting visitors from Europe, Saudi Arabia, India, and other key markets, while showcasing Abu Dhabi’s diverse offerings and year-round appeal.
Abdulla Yousuf, Director of International Operations at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi said: “The strategic partnerships signed at Arabian Travel Market 2025 represent a significant step forward in our efforts to position Abu Dhabi as a world-class tourism destination. Targeted collaborations across Europe, Saudi Arabia, India, and other key markets, enable us to enhance Abu Dhabi’s international profile and reinforcing its appeal as a dynamic, year-round destination. Globally and locally, these partnerships underline our commitment to sustainable growth, offering unique, tailored experiences that resonate with diverse global audiences, while ensuring the long-term resilience and innovation of the sector.”
Strengthening European Connections
DCT Abu Dhabi is committed to strengthening its connections with European markets, recognising the region’s importance as a key source of international visitors.
Loop Leisure Autumn 2025
An agreement has been signed with Loop Leisure to host Loop Leisure Autumn 2025 from 12 – 16 October at the Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi. The announcement comes after Abu Dhabi hosted Loop Beyond Borders event which hosted travel agents from across Central and Eastern Europe in 2024. The Autumn edition will welcome 130 high-end travel agents, tour operators, and media from largely German-speaking markets with participants hailing from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux, and Poland. The exclusive event will provide a platform to showcase Abu Dhabi’s bespoke offerings and inspire travel partners to promote the destination to their discerning clientele.
Expanding Reach in Key Source Markets
Recognising the significant potential of key source markets, DCT Abu Dhabi is forging strategic alliances to attract a wider range of visitors from Saudi Arabia and India. As a continued key target market for the emirate, DCT Abu Dhabi is leveraging the natural synergy of culture, language, customs, and traditions to encourage increased visitors from Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region.
Almosafer
The partnership with leading Saudi Arabian travel platform, Almosafer, aims to attract more visitors to Abu Dhabi, by leveraging the platform’s extensive reach and seamless booking system. The collaboration will focus on promoting Abu Dhabi as a premier travel destination for Saudi travellers, offering cultural, leisure, and luxury experiences through tailored services and packages.
Flyin
The marketing campaign with Flyin, another prominent travel platform in Saudi Arabia, also aims to increase the number of Saudi travellers to Abu Dhabi. The campaign across Flyin’s marketing channels will showcase the emirate’s attractions, events, and family-friendly atmosphere, encouraging travel and tour partners to promote Abu Dhabi as a safe and welcoming destination.
Rehlat
Rehlat, a leading online booking platform in the Middle East, will leverage its extensive digital reach, data-driven travel insights, and personalised user engagement to showcase Abu Dhabi’s curated travel experiences, inspiring smarter travel beyond the guidebooks. DCT – Abu Dhabi will have direct access to a digital-first traveller base, capitalising on Rehlat’s regional expertise to boost tourism inflow.
TBO
Market-leading global travel distribution channel, TBO, will extend DCT Abu Dhabi’s reach among its network of more than 159,000 registered travel buyers. The partnership will see TBO support DCT Abu Dhabi to increase awareness among travel agents and retail buyers across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, and launch a sales incentive campaign in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with the target to bring 4,320 passengers to Abu Dhabi over the next 12 months.
Holiday Tribe
The collaboration with Holiday Tribe, a tech company operating in the leisure travel space and another key partner in the Indian market, will target 5,500 visitors to Abu Dhabi over the next 18 months – with campaigns focused on the emirate’s unique and authentic experiences.
India remains the top source market for inbound visitors to Abu Dhabi, welcoming more than 360,000 Indian hotel guests in 2024, a 43% increase from the previous year. DCT Abu Dhabi is committed to working with strategic partners to sustain this growth.
Enhancing the Abu Dhabi Experience
Enhancing the overall visitor experience in Abu Dhabi is key to achieving the targets set out in Tourism Strategy 2030. These initiatives will showcase the emirate as a vibrant destination, strategically positioned to offer culture, adventure, family, and wellness experiences all year round driving stronger tourism growth.
Expedia Sunshine Pass
DCT Abu Dhabi and Expedia have launched the Sunshine Pass campaign – the latest initiative in their ongoing strategic collaboration. This year-round campaign aims to showcase Abu Dhabi as a destination for all seasons, highlighting its culture, adventure, and wellness offerings to international leisure travellers. Through a multi-channel marketing strategy, the campaign will ensure maximum visibility in key outbound markets, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a vibrant and appealing destination throughout the year.
Rotana Hotels
The collaboration with Rotana Hotels will drive direct bookings, mitigate seasonality, and enhance Abu Dhabi’s positioning as a year-round destination – leveraging both Rotana’s strong regional appeal and its global loyalty programme to attract domestic and GCC markets during key off-peak periods and offering exclusive rates and premium experiences to Rotana Rewards members. This first-of-its-kind collaboration in the region will boost transform summer travel to Abu Dhabi.
Fazaa
DCT Abu Dhabi and Fazaa have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to enhance the domestic visitor experience and drive appeal among UAE residents. Through its partnership, Fazaa will launch curated Abu Dhabi experiences, special packages, and exclusive offers to its members, encouraging UAE residents to consider Abu Dhabi for summer vacations, school breaks, public holiday experiences, and long weekend getaways.
DMC Arabia
By aligning with DMC Arabia, DCT Abu Dhabi will leverage their expertise to drive year-round visitors to Al Ain Region, elevating the tourist experience with curated itineraries that showcase the city’s rich heritage and cultural attractions.
Through ongoing partnerships and collaborations with key partners across diverse markets and sectors, DCT Abu Dhabi is creating a vibrant and dynamic tourism ecosystem, aligned with its Tourism Strategy 2030 to increase visitor numbers to 39.3 million by 2030. This reflects the emirate’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and delivering exceptional experiences for all visitors.
DCT Abu Dhabi Stand Receives Accolade
Arabian Travel Market has recognised DCT Abu Dhabi for sustainable efforts, recognising the Experience Abu Dhabi stand’s social conscious design and measures taken to minimise its environmental impact during the exhibition. The stand incorporates a number of sustainable elements and practices, including using locally sourced water in glass bottles from Al Ain, eliminating single-use plastic across the stand.
DCT Abu Dhabi employed and enabled Emiratis and local SMEs to demonstrate Abu Dhabi’s cultural and culinary heritage such as perfume, khoos, oud playing, and gahwa, appointing Deep – a local coffee company, replanting the stand’s palms and flora, and reutilising the stand structure and decorative elements to prolong its lifecycle at future exhibitions.
