His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Department of Civil Aviation, Government of Dubai and Chairman of the Emirates Group, has praised Abu Dhabi's unique multi-experience tourism destination - Desert Islands, dubbing it "an amazing project".
Visiting the Desert Islands model at the opening of Arabian Travel Market, the Middle East's premier travel and tourism exhibition, HH Sheikh Ahmed said," This is a very important project for the tourism industry of the whole country."
HH Sheikh Ahmed was briefed on the project by Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Managing Director of Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), which manages and develops ADTA's tourism assets.
The Desert Islands destination will consist of eight islands and an onshore gate. It will comprise the former Royal nature reserve of Sir Bani Yas Island, Dalma Island and the Discovery Islands - which includes six nearby offshore outcrops.
Meanwhile HH Sheikh Ahmed also hailed plans for the Cultural District of Saadiyat Island, which lies just offshore the UAE capital, as "an incredible project."
The Cultural District is one of seven distinct districts planned for Saadiyat Island - which translates from Arabic as 'Island of Happiness.' With the Cultural District, which will be home to the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi contemporary art museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the emirate is aiming to create a cultural asset for the world which will be an international gateway for cultural experience and exchange.
Models of both Deserts Islands and Saadiyat Island Cultural District will be on show at Arabian Travel Market, Stand No. 121.
About Tourism Development & Investment Company:
Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) is a public joint stock company established under Law No: 12 of 2005 as decreed by the Abu Dhabi Ruler and UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. TDIC is an independent organisation empowered to manage the tourism investment zones of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which directs and implements strategy for the expansion of the emirate's tourism sector. TDIC will develop the real estate assets that support ADTA's mission of assisting UAE economic diversification through tourism development.
TDIC, launched with an initial paid-up capital of AED100 million (US $27.5 million) with its shareholding fully owned by ADTA, operates along strictly commercial lines with its projects being self-sustaining and economically feasible. Its activities include creating development and tourism related concepts for specific sites and locations, disposing of, or repositioning, government-owned tourism related assets, entering into joint ventures with investment partners for assets such as hotels or residential products, as well as serving as the master developer for large scale projects.
About Abu Dhabi:
Spread over 87,340 square kilometres, Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates and accounts for more than 85% of the country's total landmass. The UAE is one of the six members of the Arabian Gulf Co-operation Council.
Abu Dhabi city, built on the largest of almost 200 natural offshore islands in the emirate, is the capital both of the emirate and of the UAE. It is the federal seat of government and home to most ministries and institutions, embassies, state broadcasting facilities and oil companies.
Abu Dhabi's population is currently around 1.6 million and is expected to grow by 6.8 per cent per annum over the next decade to a projected 3.4 million by 2015.
Abu Dhabi has an estimated 9.2% of the world's proven oil reserves and 4% of its total proven natural gas reserves. The emirate has a per capita income of US $46,185 - the highest in the world. Realising the challenges posed by the country's heavy economic reliance on finite carbon resources, the emirate's leadership is actively pursuing economic diversification.
