Abu Dhabi selected as World’s leading Sports Tourism Destination

Abu Dhabi has been selected as the World’s leading Sports Tourism Destination for seventh time in a row. This time the coveted award was conferred at 26th edition of World Travel Awards (WTA), being held in Muscat, Oman.

In 2019, Abu Dhabi gained many prestigious accolades, including being selected as Best City Break at UK’s Selling Travel Agents’ Choice Awards and West Asia’s Leading Business Tourism Destination at the West Asia edition of WTA.

Why was Abu Dhabi Awarded?

Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, has been making strides within sports tourism by developing and promoting sports facilities and events.  In early 2019, Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi had announced a 5-year partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for hosting annual premier fixtures in capital as part of Abu Dhabi Showdown Week. Also, recently the emirates has won the rights to host 2020 FINA Short Course World Championship.

Abu Dhabi has shined as a premium destination for sports tourism once again this year, after hosting some of the world’s top sporting events like: FIFA Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the first edition of UAE Tour, the UFC 242 showdown, the Special Olympics World Games 2019, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, and the Brazil vs South Korea international friendly match.

Abu Dhabi also continues to play host to annual acclaimed sports events including Formula 1 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

About World Travel Awards (WTA)

WTA was established in 1993. They are made annually by an international jury of hospitality experts and peers, mainly from World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The awards are given both on an overall world-level basis, and on 8 international region-levels. It acknowledges and rewards excellence across all key sectors of hospitality, travel and tourism industries.

NOTE: The United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), has labelled Sports tourism as one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism worldwide.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019