Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s premier leisure and entertainment hub, has
welcomed an increased number of visitors during the summer period of 2022. Visitors to the island flocked to
enjoy the destination’s diverse mix of award-winning theme parks and attractions and vast portfolio of lifestyle,
dining, and shopping experiences, with core inbound markets driven by the GCC, India and the United
Kingdom.
Yas Island’s world-class indoor and outdoor leisure and entertainment attractions, alongside an extensive
calendar of musical, sporting and family events continued to drive the destination’s value proposition as an ideal
vacation hub.
As part of its summer offering, Yas Island announced its ‘Kids Go Free’ packages for children to stay, play, dine
and even kart for free for every paying adult which drove great visitation numbers. Hotels across the destination,
including Yas Plaza Hotels, W Abu Dhabi, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, The WB™ Abu Dhabi, Curio Collection
by Hilton™, the World’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel and DoubleTree by Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island
Residences, achieved a record-breaking hotel occupancy of around 90% during Eid Al Adha.
Yas Theme parks also had a successful summer season, with a collective 90% recovery in international
visitation to the award-winning attractions; Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, and Warner Bros. World™
Abu Dhabi.
Commenting on the successful summer season, Taghrid Alsaeed, Executive Director of
Group Communications and Destination Marketing at Miral, said, “We are extremely proud of these results,
and this is a testament to achieving our vision of positioning Yas Island as a top global destination for
entertainment and leisure. It is great to see visitors return to Yas Island as the travel industry continues to
recover. We are committed to playing a key role in supporting Abu Dhabi’s vision of bolstering its tourism
offerings regionally and internationally by providing travellers with a wide range of unique offerings, immersive
experiences and international events to enjoy throughout the year.”
In addition, Yas Mall opened 60 new stores since the beginning of the year including 20 during summer, with
Eid Al Adha witnessing great success. Over an 11-day period, Yas Mall saw over 82,000 gamers, cosplayers
and families alike visit the Yas Gaming Festival which took place at the newly renovated Sports Boulevard. The
mall also hosted an indoor run in August to endorse fitness and healthy living, which saw over 600 runners
competing on the day.
Saoud Khoory, Chief Retail Officer of Aldar Investment, added: “Yas Mall has experienced another great
year, reaching a milestone of 97% occupancy and introducing a host of new stores and unique concepts in the
first six months of the year. As Yas Island’s popularity grows and we near the completion of our AED 500 million
redevelopment of the mall, we will continue catering to the evolving expectations of our customers, providing
them with exciting and personalised shopping, dining and entertainment experience under one roof.”
Classification : External General Purpose
Eid Al Adha also witnessed a stunning display of fireworks over Yas Bay and a celebration of International
Music Day at Etihad Arena, with the Legendary Saudi singer Mohamed Abdo. The singer performed an intimate
concert, entertaining the audiences with his classic songs and greatest hits from his prestigious catalogues.
This year also saw Yas Island announcing Kevin Hart as the destination’s first Chief Island Officer during the
2022 edition of the Arabian Travel Market trade show as he ‘Hartified’ Yas Island with a series of comedic
videos and stunts. In addition, the Island set the scene for the 22 nd iteration of the International Indian Film
Academy Awards (IIFA) in June, held for the first time in Abu Dhabi. Building on last year’s successful musical
campaign, ‘Stayin’ On Yas’, the destination launched yet another captivating campaign ‘Yas Yas Baby’ inspired
by the award-winning 90’s hit single, ‘Ice Ice Baby’, transforming Burj Khalifa to present the ‘World’s Biggest
Karaoke Display’ as part of the rollout.
Yas Island has announced several world-class events taking place at the destination including the NBA Abu
Dhabi Games 2022 and Disney’s The Lion King which make their regional debut at the destination, as well as
the return of FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2022, UFC® 280: Oliveira vs
Makhachev and Disney On Ice presents Mickey and Friends.
For further details, please visit: www.yasisland.com
About Yas Island
Yas Island is one of the world’s fastest growing leisure and entertainment destinations, located on the golden
shores of Abu Dhabi – just 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai. Yas Island offers
holiday makers a diverse mix of award-winning leisure and entertainment experiences, from one-of-a-kind
theme parks, world-class shopping and superb dining, to a links golf course, exciting water and motor sports,
and spectacular musical, entertainment and family events… all within the 25 sq km Island. Today, Yas Island is
home to the award-winning theme parks Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros.
World™ Abu Dhabi, the record-breaking CLYMB™ Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit (home to the FORMULA 1
ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX™), Yas Marina, the award-winning Yas Links golf course, as
well as Abu Dhabi’s largest mall, Yas Mall, Yas Bay Waterfront – Abu Dhabi’s vibrant day to night destination
featuring Pier71, a three-kilometre Boardwalk, and a variety of world-class dining, leisure and entertainment
brands. With ten hotels, including W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island, Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, The WB™ Abu
Dhabi, the World’s first Warner Bros. themed hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Residences,
Crowne Plaza Yas Island Abu Dhabi, Yas Island Rotana, Centro Yas Island by Rotana, Radisson Blu Hotel Abu
Dhabi Yas Island, Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Abu Dhabi Yas Island and Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi Yas
Island, plus more than 165 dining experiences, the destination also features indoor and outdoor concert venues
including WHITE Abu Dhabi and Etihad Arena – all of which are complemented by a range of visitor services
that connect all attractions to one another.
