As part of Abu Dhabi Government’s accelerator programme “Ghadan 21”, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced strategic initiatives for driving the development of the Emirate’s tourism sector even further.
In line with the Ghadan 21 ambition, to make Abu Dhabi one of the best places in the world for business, invest, live, work and visit, the strategic initiatives are designed to improve the value proposition of Abu Dhabi and make it a choicest destination and to increase tourism investment.
The initiatives will decrease tourism and municipality fees for hotels in Abu Dhabi, waive daily municipality fees for long-term hotel guests and visitors, as well as increase investments in attracting tourists and promote Abu Dhabi’s well-established infrastructure, world-class tourist attractions and events in a considerable way.
Saif Saeed Ghobash, the Undersecretary at DCT Abu Dhabi, said that DCT Abu Dhabi has already started implementing the initiatives across the sector.
Ghobash said that the initiatives’ focus is to enhance the relationship between the government and private sector. To quote Ghobash, “These initiatives will support tourism companies in Abu Dhabi, which in turn will help guarantee the continued growth of the sector and contribute significantly to the national economy.”
DCT Abu Dhabi’s initiatives include fee reductions, giving hotel owners access to more capital to reinvest in their businesses and growth. DCT Abu Dhabi is taking down the overall tourism and municipality fees for hotels in Abu Dhabi from 10 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
From 2019 to 2021, Dhs50 billion will be invested across four strategic pillars: Economic, Knowledge, Livability and Social. Each of the Ghadan 21 initiatives have been designed to reflect the priorities of Abu Dhabi’s citizens, residents, business owners and investors.
