The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority ADTA) will set up a hospitality school next year in order to achieve its goal of becoming a regional center for tourism education and training. ADTA Tourism Standards Director Nasser al Reyami, said ADTA has held exploratory talks with seven of the world’s largest and most prominent hospitality institutions. He said proposals are being reviewed and the ADTA hopes to make an appointment early next year, with the school opening by the end of the year.
Abu Dhabi has set a goal of receiving 2.3 million hotel guests by 2012, compared to about 1.5 million guests received this year. The emirate added 4,500 hotel rooms this year bringing its total rooms to 17,500 and plans to add 5,000 more. ADTA conducted a four month study this year and discovered that numerous staff in hotels and tourism attractions do not have sufficient product knowledge and require more training in service and sales techniques.
