The emirate of Abu Dhabi is accelerating its global tourism ambition through an expanded collaboration with leading travel-technology provider Amadeus. The strengthened alliance, announced at a major industry event in London, aligns with the goals of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) as it seeks to drive visitor growth, diversify markets and enhance the visitor experience across land, sea and air.
The core aim of this digital push is bold: to raise traveller numbers by as much as sixty percent over the previous year. By combining Amadeus’ advanced platforms—especially AI-powered programmatic marketing and data-driven outreach—with Abu Dhabi’s rich tourism proposition, the initiative is designed to broaden the emirate’s appeal, reach new segments and convert interest into bookings in meaningful volume.
Redefining destination marketing
At the heart of the partnership is the deployment of Amadeus Digital Media and other cloud-based services to engage prospective travellers during their moments of travel planning and decision making. By harnessing artificial intelligence and deep data analytics, the campaign will serve highly relevant, personalised messaging to users actively seeking their next holiday destination. Whether the target is cultural explorers, adventure travellers, families or business guests, the goal is to reach them at the right time, with the right story, and on the right channel.
The technology enables the emirate to move beyond traditional broad-brush advertising and into precision-targeting: discovering and activating audiences who may not yet have Abu Dhabi at the top of their travel wish lists. Through smart segmentation and custom-tailored creative, the campaign is built to awaken curiosity about the emirate’s unique blend of heritage, desert landscapes, luxury escapes and coastal experiences.
Anchored in Abu Dhabi’s tourism roadmap
This digital marketing thrust comes at a strategic moment. Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Strategy 2030 sets out clear targets and priorities: growing annual visitor numbers from around 24 million in 2023 to 39.3 million by 2030, generating AED 90 billion in tourism-sector GDP contribution and creating approximately 178,000 new jobs. The strategy emphasises infrastructure, experience innovation, diversification of source markets and the use of advanced digital tools.
The Amadeus partnership dovetails with these ambitions by strengthening the “Promotion & Marketing” pillar and enabling more nimble, data-based engagement internationally. This supports Abu Dhabi’s larger purpose of evolving into a tourism destination not just of scale but of personalised, meaningful value.
Targeting new and emerging markets
One of the significant shifts embodied in the partnership is the move beyond long-established feeder markets to explore emerging regions where online travel engagement is rising fast. With Amadeus’ global reach and platform capabilities, Abu Dhabi will intensify efforts in less-traditional markets—mobilising creative campaigns in target languages, optimising channel strategy by region and finding the “high-intent” travellers who are researching but have not yet committed to destination.
Simultaneously, campaigns will support established markets such as Europe and Asia, reinforcing the emirate’s existing brand equity while layering on higher-conversion targeting. The integrated data stack will allow continuous refinement: monitoring performance, adjusting spend and creative, and shifting markets or segments dynamically.
Technology as performance engine
Digital transformation is no longer a side-project but a central driver for competitive tourism destinations. The integration of Amadeus’ technology positions Abu Dhabi to treat visitor marketing as a performance engine: using real-time measurement, machine-learning-optimised campaigns and feedback loops to elevate effectiveness. This means better returns on marketing investment, higher conversion of interest into actual bookings and a flow-through into higher occupancy, visitor spend and economic impact for the region’s tourism ecosystem.
By marrying traveller behaviour data with destination attributes and channel performance, Abu Dhabi can craft richer guest journeys—customised pre-trip messaging, arrival experience prompts, cross-sell of experiences and tailored retention touchpoints for repeat visits and word-of-mouth.
Stakeholder uplift and economic ripple effect
For the local tourism economy, the benefits promised by this upgraded partnership are multi-layered. Hotels, tour operators, retail and F&B outlets stand to gain from higher visitor volumes and better-targeted guests. The increased yield from higher-spend segments flows into job creation, improved capacity utilisation and returns on tourism infrastructure investment. With the sector already contributing significantly to non-oil GDP, scaling visitor numbers and value helps anchor tourism as a key pillar of Abu Dhabi’s diversification agenda.
What visitors can expect
From the traveller’s perspective, this behind-the-scenes marketing investment aims to deliver a smoother, more relevant discovery and booking process. Prospective guests may see fewer generic ads and more offers aligned with their interests—be it desert safaris, museum visits, family theme parks, luxury wellness escapes or business-plus-leisure stays. The hope is that this tailored outreach results in visits that feel more personalised and experiences that feel more connected to the individual traveller’s narrative.
Execution, risks and outcomes
Of course, ambition drives success only when execution follows. The real test will lie in how quickly the data platforms are implemented, how well creative is localised, how responsive the campaign adjustments are and whether bookings translate into tangible footfall. Moreover, rising visitor numbers must be matched by sufficient capacity in hotels, attractions, transportation and support services; otherwise the visitor experience could suffer, undermining the strategic goals.
But with the resources, strategic alignment and technological partner in place, Abu Dhabi appears to be moving in the right direction. If the target of a 60 percent uplift in visitor numbers is achieved, it would mark a significant advancement toward the 2030 visitor-volume goal and signal to the global tourism industry that the emirate is serious about its evolution.
Final thoughts
In summary, the expanded partnership between DCT Abu Dhabi and Amadeus represents a high-stakes bet on digital, data and destination-marketing innovation. It embodies the emirate’s ambition to stand out globally, attract new audiences, deliver stronger tourism-economy outcomes and enhance the visitor experience. For stakeholders across the tourism ecosystem, this is a pivotal moment. For travellers, it may usher in more personalised, timely and meaningful invitations to explore the emirate’s breadth of culture, adventure and luxury. The next chapter of Abu Dhabi’s tourism story is unfolding—anchored in technology, powered by strategy and aimed at global scale.
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