Twenty of the world's top tour operators are in Abu Dhabi as part of an intensive campaign to woo them over to the emirate that has the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

 The operators – from Italy, the US, France, the UK, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Germany, India and Australia – are being hosted in the emirate by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which is looking to build next year's hotel guest arrivals to over the 2.8 million mark – up from this year's expected 2.5 million.

 

 "These are powerful decision makers within the travel and tourism sector and we want them to fully understand the sheer breadth of our expanded destination offering which has grown exponentially over the past 18 months and is now a vibrant leisure proposition for a diverse target market," Jasem Al Darmaki, deputy director general of TCA Abu Dhabi, was quoted Sunday as saying.

 

 The tour operators are on a five-day destination familiarisation tour of the emirate before joining TCA leaders for Sunday's 2013 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

 

 "We are leveraging the emirate's headline event to demonstrate clearly to the tour operators the destination's assets and attractions and major events credentials," added Al Darmaki. 

 

 "We want to encourage positive word-of-mouth recommendation among these key influencers and build strong relationships going forward."