Ever wondered what it takes to be the Chief Island Officer of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island?
Apparently, it’s the element of “fun”, Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Group CEO of Miral revealed to Arabian Business in an exclusive interview at the Arabian Travel Market, currently taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
“We position the Island as an international destination – We want both families and couples to come and enjoy their time on Yas Island. However, in order to achieve that, we need international celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Jason Momoa and Ryan Reynolds to showcase the destination to other source markets,” he said.
Abu Dhabi Yas Island’s Chief Island Officer must meet two factors
Al Zaabi explained that the Chief Island Officer is selected after considering two layers.
“The first layer, is considering the source market – where we want to go to a certain size market through a certain campaign. We have a strategy for each market because customer preferences vary,” he explained.
The second layer, Al Zaabi revealed, consists of the “overarching strategy” of how to promote the idea internationally.
“Someone like Kevin, or Jason or Ryan, will of course help promote Yas Island to markets in the US, UK and Europe, in general as well as in other source markets like GCC. So many people over here follow these three celebrities. There are many criteria when we select them, but one of them mainly is the personality of these celebrities and how they overlap with our DNA. There should be a similarity – and the three of them bring that to the islands – entertainment, fun, energy and excitement.”
Yas Island alone, saw over 34 million visitations in 2023, depicting a 38 percent increase from 2022, Miral revealed in a statement. Theme parks and attractions on Yas Island saw an 83 percent visitation increase. GCC visitors increased 125 percent whereas international visitors increased 167 percent.
“Last year was a phenomenal year of growth for our leisure entertainment portfolio – we have broken almost all records last year,” Al Zaabi said, adding that tourists from India, UK and Russia have visited the island all year long.
Yas Island also hosted over 560,000 people at concerts and events, an 87 percent increase, and hotels on Yas Island had 90 percent occupancy in summer months.
In addition, Miral’s Saadiyat Island also witnessed record growth in 2023. Both islands received over 170 regional and international awards in 2023 for their attractions and contributions to tourism.
But how do these achievements align with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Strategy 2030?
Miral’s destinations support Abu Dhabi’s goal to attract 39.3 million visitors by 2030 under the new tourism strategy.
“We always work closely with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism – they are the main players in this market and we operate under their umbrella. We always collaborate with them to achieve the ambition announced recently. However, in order to achieve that, we need to add more experiences, facilities, and rooms to Abu Dhabi, in general, especially as for both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island the demand is very high,” Al Zaabi said adding that the opening of the new Zayed International Airport and the introduction of many flights will help fuel tourism in Abu Dhabi.
“That is a good indicator. The new announcement of the Al Maktoum International Airport will also improve tourism levels as it is just 40 minutes away from Yas Island – I can’t wait to see that,” he said.
According to Al Zaabi, while Abu Dhabi is known for its many cultural offerings, it is also a massive international tourism hub.
“I would say we are also a tourism hub, a cultural hub and more – we have many different pillars – and Abu Dhabi offers different experiences in different locations. Yas Island is an entertainment destination, whereas Saadiyat Island is a cultural destination – yet, you have other experiences around the emirate,” he said, adding that Abu Dhabi is very “creative and innovative,” through its many campaigns featuring global celebrities like Kevin Hart, Jason Momoa, Ryan Reynolds, Ranveer Singh, and the likes.
In addition, when asked about Abu Dhabi’s defining trait for international tourists, he said: “There are so many factors. One of them mainly is that Abu Dhabi is the safest city in the world for 8 years in a row. The second thing is that, we are also convenient for all because we build our experiences based on what our customers love – which is why we launched a data analytics programme – the Noor Initiative, which helps us understand our customer preferences and behaviours using the data. We have introduced many experiences, and we have built many attractions, but I always want to head from our customers. It is all about data, data and data.”
Upcoming projects by Miral at Yas Island, Saadiyat Island
As Al Zaabi explained, both Yas Island and Saadiyat Island will be launching new projects later in the year.
Miral has currently partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery to open a Harry Potter themed park in Yas Island – this will be built with the aim of being the world’s largest indoor theme park.
“The design has been completed and we are in the next stage now – we are very happy with the progress. Once we begin construction, we will announce a timeline of more details,” Al Zaabi said.
The Miral chief also discussed Saadiyat Island’s opening of a new cultural attraction called the teamLab Phenomena art experience.
“It will be ready by the end of this year and is a great digital art experience, which is a multi-sensory, allowing visitors to be completely immersed in the experience. Saadiyat Island will also be home to the Natural History Museum, with its construction set for completion over the next year.
“We always think long-term and not short-term. I would say our hands are very busy today in operating our theme parks, but our minds are busy in 2035 and beyond that – how we can add more experiences, how we can position Yas Island and Saadiyat Island as the top destination for international tourists,” he concluded.
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