Abu Dhabi is looking to strengthen its position in India with nine new joint marketing partnerships signed with Indian travel companies at Arabian Travel Market 2026, targeting 75,500 additional visitors to the emirate.
The largest agreement is with MakeMyTrip, which will target 37,500 visitors over 18 months. Thrillophilia and Akbar Holidays will target a further 11,000 and 10,000 visitors respectively over the same period.
One-year agreements with RezLive, Utazzo Holidays, Holiday Tribe, TravClan, Pickyourtrail and GNRconnect.com will target another 15,000 visitors combined.
India was Abu Dhabi’s largest overseas source market in 2025 and remained a key market in 2026. Indian visitors accounted for 13% of the emirate’s hotel guests last year, with numbers rising 22% year on year to 436,124.
The growth has been supported by increased airline connections, proximity to major events including concerts and the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and marketing campaigns around Diwali and Eid. DCT Abu Dhabi has also run an ambassador campaign featuring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
The new agreements were signed at ATM 2026 as Abu Dhabi seeks to build further demand from India, its leading overseas source market.
Image caption: Officials from DCT Abu Dhabi and MakeMyTrip
