Kolkata: By year-end, you can be at Louvre Museum in four hours. Shocked? Thank Etihad Airways and Louvre, whose expansion plans have coincided, bringing Kolkatans a rare treat.
Etihad is starting direct flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi this week and the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open later in 2015. New York's Guggenheim Museum is also opening in Abu Dhabi in 2017. The twin attractions are likely to make Abu Dhabi the most popular destination in the Gulf among Indians, a status currently held by Dubai. Also, Zayed National Museum — narrating the region's history and unification of UAE through the life of founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — will open in 2016.
Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority country manager Bejan Dinshaw told TOI that tourist flow will increase dramatically over the next few months as the Etihad-Jet alliance leads to a rapid ramp-up in flights from Indian cities to Abu Dhabi. "By March-end, there will be 200 flights a week into Abu Dhabi from 14 Indian cities. Many of those travelling to US will go via Abu Dhabi because US immigration and customs formalities get completed at Abu Dhabi airport itself before they board the flight. This saves up to three hours of wait in serpentine queues on arrival at New York and other airports in the US," he explained.
08/02/15 Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
Etihad is starting direct flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi this week and the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open later in 2015. New York's Guggenheim Museum is also opening in Abu Dhabi in 2017. The twin attractions are likely to make Abu Dhabi the most popular destination in the Gulf among Indians, a status currently held by Dubai. Also, Zayed National Museum — narrating the region's history and unification of UAE through the life of founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — will open in 2016.
Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority country manager Bejan Dinshaw told TOI that tourist flow will increase dramatically over the next few months as the Etihad-Jet alliance leads to a rapid ramp-up in flights from Indian cities to Abu Dhabi. "By March-end, there will be 200 flights a week into Abu Dhabi from 14 Indian cities. Many of those travelling to US will go via Abu Dhabi because US immigration and customs formalities get completed at Abu Dhabi airport itself before they board the flight. This saves up to three hours of wait in serpentine queues on arrival at New York and other airports in the US," he explained.
08/02/15 Times of India
