Sports Industry Series: Abu Dhabi claims sports tourism prize at World Travel Awards

The award is the latest in several prestigious accolades gained by Abu Dhabi this year, including being selected as the Middle East’s Leading Business Tourism Destination at the Middle East edition of WTA and Best City Break at the UK’s Selling Travel Agents’ Choice Awards.

Abu Dhabi has hosted some of the world’s top sporting events in recent years, including the FIFA Club World Cup 2017 and 2018, the first edition of the UAE Tour, the AFC Asian Cup 2019, the Special Olympics World Games 2019 and UFC 242 showdown.

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

Nabeel M. Al Zarouni, Regional Promotions Manager, Middle East and Africa, who received the award on behalf of DCT-Abu Dhabi, said: “We are very grateful to have Abu Dhabi recognised as one of the world’s leading tourism industry awards.

“This award is a culmination of the hard work that our team and partners have put in to promote tourism in the UAE capital and to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for business, sports, leisure and culture.

“We thank the World Travel Awards and look forward to achieving more success within this field in the future.”

Sports tourism has been labelled by the UN World Travel Organisation, UNWTO, as one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism worldwide. Abu Dhabi has been making strides within sports tourism by developing sports facilities and events across the capital.

“Sports tourism has been one of the key areas of development for us at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi,” said Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing Sector.

“This is not limited to hosting premier sports events, but also to developing facilities and attractions across Abu Dhabi to appeal to sports fans, enthusiasts and athletes. Today, Abu Dhabi is equipped with an outstanding array of sports facilities, gyms, and recovery options at its spas and medical centres.

“Recently, we also have worked with the Department of Transport and Abu Dhabi municipality to improve accessibility and allow runners and cyclists to enjoy practicing their sports across the capital.”