I was at an Abu Dhabi tourism event in Manchester a couple of weeks ago, held at The Lowry Hotel (where I have stayed a couple of times and highly recommend!). I was hoping to significantly learn a lot more about the United Arab Emirates capital, which often falls under the shadow of Dubai. However, to be perfectly honest, I did not come away with that much additional information.
Some of the tourism events that travel agents can attend are excellent, with a wealth of information and learning to be had on the destination or the offerings within it, but this was not one of them, sadly.
That's not to say it wasn't an extremely useful occasion - I did find out more about Etihad's new developments, and it was good to discover the 'secrets of Arabia' according to Desert Adventures Tourism, but I'd have liked there to have been a real in-depth look at what Abu Dhabi can offer its visitors, so that I could have brushed up my existing knowledge and found something new and intriguing.
It wasn't a wasted evening though - I caught up with a travel agent I know locally, had a wonderful 3-course dinner full of Arabian treats, and best of all, had some beautiful henna painted onto my hand by a talented young lady named Saima Rashid!
Comments