Fresh off his appearance at Youtravels roadshow in partnership with Travel Bulletin, Darrin des Vignes, Miral Destinations country director for the UK, reflected on last weeks trade engagement and showcased what both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island offer both agents and their clients.
"Yas Island and Saadiyat Island represent a great value proposition: the destinations are competitive, and oftentimes cheaper and more convenient than similar destinations that clients might consider.
"The tourism products in Abu Dhabi more widely, but specifically on Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, have been developed from an end-user perspective for a holistic holiday experience."
The 'playground' of Abu Dhabi
"Yas Island is the 'playground' of Abu Dhabi: it is where you go to have fun and create exciting memories of stimulating experiences. It has some of the world's leading theme parks [Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld and SeaWorld], which represent three days of activity at least."
Darrin spotlighted Warner Bros. World in particular as a multi-generational marvel, with characters like Scooby-Doo, the Jetsons and the Flinstones that parents are sure to be familiar with, and yet, for children, "represent a whole new world of discovery... and bridge the generations."
All the properties on Yas Island offered by Youtravel include theme park tickets as part of Miral Destinations' ongoing campaign for 2024: tickets can also be sourced through DoSomethingDifferent among other trade-friendly attraction ticket operators.
It is difficult to understate the connectivity and convenience of the island's experiences: free shuttles connect the airport to Yas Island and the four theme parks every half an hour. The recent addition of a kiosk at Yas Mall makes the experience all the more seamless by allowing guests to check-in their luggage up to 24 hours ahead of their flight for a luggage-free day of departure.
The Indian Ocean of the Middle East: coastline and culture
"Saadiyat Island is positioned as the cultural centre point of Abu Dhabi, blending culture with a luxury beach experience. There are only five properties on Saadiyat, all of which are certified five stars.
"The island's coastline has been awarded as the Middle East's best beach for the last 11 years: it is almost like the Indian Ocean of the Middle East. The coastline is entirely protected as a wildlife conservation region: you've got gazelles walking on the beach and golf courses and turtles coming to the beach to lay eggs during hatching season."
Alongside the entirely undeveloped beach and five-star properties on the island, Saadiyat hosts the Louvre Abu Dhabi and upcoming openings include the Guggenheim and a Natural History Museum which, as Darrin stated, is cementing the island's growing reputation as "one of the most culturally-dense destinations in the world."
Tailoring the islands' approach for the trade
Darrin explained: "[The Youtravel roadshows] are so important because even though some agents might be familiar with the product, there are a lot who don't associate Yas Island as a destination with all the sub-brands and experiences within the destination and may not even have Saadiyat Island on their radar.
"So yes, people are familiar with Ferrari World or with the Yas Marina Circuit where we host Formula 1 each year, but beyond that, they might not know all of those experiences are part of the cohesive brand of Yas Island.
"Agents still aren't aware of the containment of the product... it is great to show those agents a holistic view of the product and explain how straightforward it is to sell."
More to come
British Airways is reinstating its direct Abu Dhabi service on April 20th, meaning guests flying from the UK will have a choice of direct services from both British Airways and Etihad.
Beyond hosting world-renowned brands like Ferrari and Warner Bros., Yas Island has established a star-studded reputation thanks to its annual Chief Island Officer: previous CIOs include Kevin Hart and Jason Mamoa. 2024's nominee, a heartthrob swapping North Wales for Yas Island, is set to be announced in due course ahead of his return to the big screen as an irreverent anti-hero this summer.
Darrin will return to the road on our upcoming Youtravel Roadshow in May: registration is now open for both May and October's events at www.travelbulletin.co.uk/youtravel-2024-all-road-shows-registration-form.
Miral Destinations is the destination representation organisation for both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island. Register for the organisation's B2B platform at www.miraldestinations.com/b2b-landingpage to unlock discounted rates, incentives, offers, marketing tools, training and rewards across Yas Island and Saadiyat Island.
