Summer in Abu Dhabi fest a hit

The Summer in Abu Dhabi Festival, which is being held in the capital for the first time this year, has been well received by the general public, according to a survey by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec).

The company, which is a joint organiser of the event along with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), conducted the survey as part of its marketing strategy. The results revealed high customer satisfaction with the festival, which was marketed and promoted heavily. It has also attracted many visitors to the emirate, the survey found.

Visitors gave the show a 9.5 out of 10 – a 95 per cent rating. Results reveal 42 per cent of visitors came from other parts of the UAE – with 19 per cent from Al Ain and eight per cent from Dubai, notably. Overseas visitors account for three per cent, the majority of them from Saudi Arabia.

Forty per cent of visitors cited Fun Island as favourite, and 11 per cent chose the Heritage & Culture Island. The survey also revealed 25 per cent of visitors saw the event more than once and 1.3 per cent at least five times.

Faisal Al Sheikh, head of the events section at ADTA, said: "I have spoken to many Summer in Abu Dhabi visitors over the past few weeks so it comes as no surprise that reaction is very positive, but for us to achieve a 95 per cent satisfaction rate is fantastic and incredibly rare for a launch event. I am also particularly pleased that so many of the visitors to Summer in Abu Dhabi were from outside the city, as we have been careful to market this as an event for the whole nation."

Adnec is also undergoing an expansion with a Dh8 billion business and leisure district measuring 148,000 square metres, in order to catapult the MICE industry (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) to new heights in the emirate.

Bejoy Thomas, Marketing and Administration Manager of the super market chain, Abu Dhabi Co-operative Society, said the chain has noticed a significant increase in revenue and footfall during the Summer in Abu Dhabi Festival. "We have been growing 22 per cent year on year to date. However, this summer we have seen growth that is 14 per cent over and above that rate, and I assume it is because of the Summer in Abu Dhabi Festival that is happening at this time. In terms of revenue and footfall, I'm sure the growth has been no less than 43 per cent."

He added that no product promotions were needed this summer due to the festival. "Summer is usually the low season and what we try and do is conduct our own promotions, but this year we didn't need to do anything from our end. The festival, Ramadan and Eid, occurring almost one after the other, have fortunately meant hotels are full and visitor inflows are high – so it works well in terms of marketing."

The festival, starting on June 26 and ending on August 18, is being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center. A total of 600 visitors were covered for the survey.