India: The Top Source Market for Yas Island

 “India an extremely important market to us. We did good numbers in 2022. We recovered quicker than our expectation. India was the one which brought it back the quickest due to our perfect strategy. We invested a lot into India last year – we had Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as our Band Ambassador last year. We organized IIFA, increased the team from 3 to 10 people within the Indian market. There’s a lot of investment and the recovery was quite impressive. So, we were extremely happy with our performance in the India market,” Liam Findlay, CEO, Miral Destinations, during a media interaction in New Delhi last month.

He revealed that India stands at number 1 position in terms of overall source market. “India’s always had a long history with the UAE. Our products on Yes Island with theme parks, theme parks, attractions, hotels etc. really fit within the Indian traveler. India market is unique with its nuances, but it really fits well within the Yas Island,” the CEO said.

Elaborating further, Findlay said that the proximity from India is also one of the main reasons for the superb performance from India. “We’re a short trip away, with only two hours from some cities in India to Abu Dhabi. We’ve got world-class attractions; Ferrari World within Yes Island has been a fan favorite of the Indians. We’ve invested heavily into Yas Island, and it is now like the Orlando of the Middle East. We’ve got Warner Brothers; Sea World. And of course, Yas Island is also home to Formula One, which is over 10 years now. We’ve got a Golf Course which is in the top 50 globally. So, when we look at Yas Island, we call it the Island of Brands.”

Yes Island is just over 10 years old as a destination and attractions are being added on regular interval to diversify its offerings. “First was the Formula One track and then Ferrari World, Yas Water World. But when you look in the last three to four years, we’ve launched Warner Brothers theme park, which is the largest indoor theme park in the world,” he said and added that the Island also added Etihad Arena, a multipurpose stadium with capacity of 18,000 people, hosts amazing concerts and sports events. “We’ve hosted one IIFA there with the next coming up in May. We’ve hosted NBA and UFC,” he said.

Etihad Arena had amazing lineup of different events. “We’ve also launched our Yas Bay which is our culinary destination, 30 specialized restaurants within the waterfront there. Also, two years ago we launched another 1,0000 hotel rooms across three hotels,” he informed. At present, there are over 10 hotels there with 3000+ rooms.

He also spoke SeaWorld, a next-gen Marine Theme Park, slated to be opened on May 23. In February, we opened the Rescue Research Center of Sea World which is a really important part of the ecosystem emphasizing on rehabilitation, research, and rescue of marine life within the ecosystem of Abu Dhabi and beyond Middle East.

SeaWorld Abu Dhabi will be built on five indoor levels, with a total area of approximately 183,000sqm. It will contain more than 58 million liters of water and be home to more than 150 species of marine animals. It is going to be home to the world’s largest and most expansive multi-species marine-life aquarium.