DUBAI: High profile events in Abu Dhabi has helped the city increase its international tourism. The recent Abu Dhabi Formula One (F1) Grand Prix helped the emirate's policymakers achieve objectives both on a strategic and touristic level, but the government is eager to achieve even loftier tourism goals in 2011. “The economic returns of a sold out 2009 Grand Prix significantly benefited the tourism sector and wider economy. Now we are expecting a greater impact from this year's event,” Lawrence Franklin, director of strategy and policy at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), told local press in the lead up to the 2010 F1 race. Indeed, this year's event lived up to expectations – giving the local economy a welcome fillip. Hotels enjoyed bumper occupancy levels, while retail and food and beverage outlets benefited from an influx of well-healed visitors to the emirate. “Our hotels are fully booked – as are the rest of the hotels on Yas Island. And with a slew of high profile activities and events taking place throughout the emirate during the F1 period the race can only benefit the local economy,” Dieter Franke, the general manager of Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island, told OBG. Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management (ADMM) reported that 100% of the 50,000 seats for the final race of the Grand Prix season were sold in advance of the event. Yas Island, which played host to the sell out F1 crowd, was alive with business activity and many of its hotels managed to entice guests from last year's race back to their hotels again for the 2010 event. “We are welcoming back a lot of F1 fans and enthusiasts who stayed with us for last year's race,” Franke told OBG. “They were obviously impressed by Yas Island first time round and it can only be better now as there are more activities, such as the Yas Links golf course and the Ferrari World theme park.” BM
