Published on : Wednesday, March 13, 2019
The Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT) explained on Tuesday that it has lessened it tourism fees from 6 to 3.5 percent, municipal fees from 4 to 2 percent and municipality hotel room fees per night from Dhs15 ($4) to Dhs10 respectively.
Abu Dhabi is all geared up in investing billions of dollars behind industry, infrastructure and tourism to diversify its economy apart from oil.
The capital is home to the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Warner Bros. world-themed indoor park and other attractions.
Two additional museums, the Guggenheim and the Zayed National Museum, are in the pipeline.
In 2018, Dubai welcomed a record 15.9 million tourists in comparison to Abu Dhabi’s 10 million hotel guests in 2017.
The strategy to trim down the fees came on the back of a study on Abu Dhabi’s hotels conducted by the DCT.
“The tourism sector is a key alternative to oil,” said Saif Saeed Ghobash, under-secretary of DCT. “It is necessary to support this sector as it experiences difficulties to allow it to contribute to the achievement of future goals.”
Tags: Abu Dhabi Tourism