The Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) will this week highlight the emirate’s tourist attractions at the World Travel Market (WTM) exhibition in London, following the launch of its “Extraordinary Stories” global destination advertising campaign last week.
TCA Abu Dhabi will be joined by representatives from leading hotels, resorts, attractions and tour operators in Abu Dhabi, along with representatives from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Etihad Airways.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals are expected to attend WTM, which opens tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday.
“Last year, the UK was the highest contributor of hotel guests into the emirate from the European market, and the third-highest globally,” said TCA Abu Dhabi’s director general, Saif Saeed Ghobash.
“In 2015 our British visitors’ generated more than 950,000 guest nights, which we will strive to improve upon as we progress to becoming a year-round destination. For the past three years the UK has recorded a double-digit growth percentage.”
UK visitor numbers for the year so far are already 3 per cent higher than the 231,337 visitors last year, Mr Ghobash said.
TCA Abu Dhabi’s attendance at WTM comes a week after the authority rolled out its Extraordinary Stories promotional campaign worldwide, highlighting the emirate’s cultural, sporting and natural attractions, targeting core markets including India, China, the UK, Germany and the United States.
Abu Dhabi received 3.2 million visitors during the first nine months this year, up 9 per cent from the same period last year. The average length of stay decreased by 6 per cent during the period, despite hotel room rates falling by 10 per cent.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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