Abu Dhabi's hotel guests increase by 12.3 pct in March

DUBAI, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of hotel guests in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE), reached 464,960 in March, up 12.3 percent year on year, state news agency WAM reported Saturday.

The total number of hotel guests in Abu Dhabi in the first three months of the year reached 1.29 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.9 percent, the report said, citing figures released by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi).

The number of visitors from key markets including China, the United States and Germany, registered double-digit increases, it said.

During March, the number of visitors from China increased by 15.4 percent to 40,800, while American visitors, up 29 percent to 19,300, and German visitors, up 36 percent to 18,800.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said Abu Dhabi has "an ambitious target of attracting 8.5 million guests a year by 2021, which will provide a significant boost to the economy and support our drive for economic diversification."

Abu Dhabi will open Warner Bros. World theme park on July 25, a project run by the U.S. entertainment group Warner Bros. and its UAE partner firm Miral Asset Management.

The park will be connected to nearby Ferrari World theme park by tram soon, said Sandra Hamdan, the marketing director with Warner Bros. World, at a tourism fair in Dubai on Monday.

Hamdan highlighted the company's efforts to target the Chinese market, saying a promotion campaign would be launched "in China through our representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai." Enditem