Photograph: (from left flanked by means of Etihad Cabin Workforce) Tiago Phillimore, Etihad Director Locations, Merchandise & Vacations; Aysha Al Kaabi, Etihad VP of Industrial Enablement & Engagement; Abdulla Yousuf, DCT Director World Operations; Haitham Al Khamis, DCT Segment Head of Aviation, Cruise & World Partnerships; and Nahla Al Shorbaji DCT Undertaking Supervisor Aviation.
Division of Tradition and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and Etihad Airlines celebrated the luck of the Abu Dhabi Stopover Programme at Arabian Go back and forth Marketplace 2025, with customer numbers proceeding to boost up at an excellent tempo.
The Stopover Programme has completed 25,000 bookings within the first 4 months of 2025, representing a 47% enlargement in gross sales in comparison to the similar length in 2024. Extra considerably, the choice of guests has surged to 44,000 between January and April 2025, marking a considerable 76% building up over the 25,000 guests recorded all through the similar length final yr.
The luck of the Abu Dhabi Stopover Programme extends past preliminary visits, with many travellers who first skilled the emirate all through a brief stopover returning for longer devoted vacations. This enlargement builds at the robust efficiency all the way through 2024, which welcomed 85,000 global stopover guests in comparison to 12,000 in 2023. Etihad Airlines anticipates internet hosting greater than 130,000 stopover visitors in 2025, proceeding to convey incremental guests to Abu Dhabi at an sped up tempo.
The programme draws guests from throughout Etihad’s international community, with notable passion from the US and Canada, the place travellers are an increasing number of breaking their adventure to enjoy Abu Dhabi’s cultural sights. Ecu guests from the UK, Germany, and France are finding the emirate’s distinctive mix of custom and modernity. The programme additionally resonates with travellers from India, Japan, and South Korea, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s various attraction to global guests.
The programme’s attraction has been additional enhanced by means of the brand new Abu Dhabi Go introduced in March, which supplies further advantages for travellers in the hunt for to maximize their time within the emirate.
The virtual Abu Dhabi Go supplies guests with unfastened airport transfers, a vacationer SIM card with records connectivity, limitless get entry to to public buses, and 24-hour limitless get entry to to the hop-on-hop-off vacationer bus community. Go holders additionally experience unique reductions of as much as 15% at main sights together with Qasr Al Watan, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Yas Island’s leisure locations equivalent to Ferrari International Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. International™ Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld.
Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director Basic for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, mentioned: “Abu Dhabi’s strategic funding in data-led advertising, various programming, and a culture-first method is yielding important tourism enlargement, evidenced by means of 1.4 million Q1 2025 in a single day visitors. With the luck of our stopover programme, we purpose to improve partnerships and develop our international succeed in, making sure our distinctive cultural identification stays central to our long-term tourism imaginative and prescient.
“The multi-sensory teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi opened on 18 April and is the most recent addition to Saadiyat Cultural District. This 17,000 sqm immersive artwork area options transformative reveals on the intersection of artwork, science, and generation, including to the emirate’s rising portfolio of world-class reviews.”
Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad Airlines Leader Govt Officer, mentioned: “Our Stopover Programme continues to exceed expectancies as extra travellers make a selection to wreck their adventure and uncover Abu Dhabi. The 76% enlargement in guests all through the primary 4 months of 2025 demonstrates the programme’s accelerating momentum. By means of providing as much as two complimentary resort nights, we’re giving guests the very best alternative to enjoy our outstanding vacation spot. The advent of the Abu Dhabi Go has additional enhanced this enjoy, offering sensible advantages and unique reductions that let guests to take advantage of their time within the emirate.”
The typical period of keep for stopover guests has greater since 2024, with travellers exploring extra sights all through their seek advice from. This enlargement helps the targets of Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Technique 2030, which goals to draw 39.3 million guests, create 178,000 new jobs within the tourism sector, and give a contribution AED 90 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP by means of 2030.
Taking a look forward, DCT Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airlines plan to additional reinforce the customer enjoy via persisted collaboration, with bold goals set for global customer arrivals within the coming years.
