TravTalk India Online Magazine
Liam Findlay, CEO, Miral Destinations, highlights the importance of Indian market for Yas Island and says their focus is on promoting the destination in India, improving ties with the travel trade, and tapping M!CE & wedding segments.
Janice Alyosius
Liam Findlay, Chief Executive Officer, Miral Destinations, highlighting the importance of Indian market for Yas Island, said the country has become the number one inbound market for them in the last 10 years. He shared the strategies to ensure a promising year for the destination.
Promoting Yas Island in India
To tap into the Indian market, Yas Island has been working on a five-year roadmap. “The brand ambassador for Yas Island in India is Ranvir Singh, and the destination has done a lot of work with him to promote Yas Island. We have recently launched our third campaign to target the summer season and have done brand association with Master Chef, had five episodes on Yas Island, and we will have the IIFA again this year,” he shared.
The destination has also planned concerts and activities around Diwali to target Indian guests.
Tapping into M!CE, weddings
The M!CE and wedding segments have been an interesting market for Yas Island, with M!CE being the first to recover from the pandemic.
“The M!CE industry, particularly in India, has shown a remarkable recovery from the pandemic, and we have witnessed significant growth in this sector. At Yas Island, we have taken proactive measures by allocating dedicated resources and forming a specialized team to provide lucrative incentives to attract M!CE companies and events. In addition, we offer similar incentives for weddings, which is a fascinating and substantial market, especially for Indian weddings. With the Indian wedding market being a long-stay market, we have recruited specialized personnel to target this market and offer tailor-made services to our Indian clients,” he shared.
Working with travel trade
Yas Island sees the travel trade as the most important element when it comes to their Indian strategy. “We have increased our resources in the Indian market from three people to 10 people and do a lot of lower co-op marketing with the travel trade to build the brand of Yas Island. The travel trade is essential to help convert business for Yas Island,” shared Findlay.
Increasing the length of stay
Yas Island’s main KPI is length of stay, and they have been working to increase it. The destination has built more hotels in the last two years, with another thousand rooms on the island.
“We have also introduced more attractions, such as Warner Brothers Theme Park, Climb, the Yas Bay Arena, and a culinary destination with over 30 restaurants specializing in Indian cuisine. Our aim is to increase the length of stay to three to four nights for Indian guests,” he said.
Collaboration and partnerships in the pipeline
Yas Island has a lot more partnerships and collaborations in the pipeline, with some exciting news coming up soon, shared Findlay. “The Indian market is essential for Yas Island, and we are committed to tapping into it. With more investments, promotions, and incentives, Yas Island is well on its way to becoming a top destination for Indian tourists,” he said.
