Abu Dhabi, April 30th, 2007 (WAM) - Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC)will use the Arabian Travel Markets Exhibition to showcase its ambitiouswork to develop the Emirate's aviation infrastructure.

ATM 2007, which kicks off on Tuesday at Dubai International Conventionand Exhibition Centre, will engage travel and tourism key players fromsix contents in four days of meetings, seminars, press conferences andnetworking.

Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Chairman and Managing Director of the Abu DhabiAirports Company (ADAC), said: "ATM 2007 comes at a time when Abu DhabiInternational Airport is witnessing strong growth in traffic and gainingmounting recognition as an airport of choice."March traffic results showed a 48 per cent rise over the same period lastyear. A total of 534,583 passengers used the Airport in March 2007, comparedto 361,591 in March 2006. During the first quarter of 2007, total passengertraffic reached 1.575 million, an increase of 25% over the 1.255 millionpassengers in the same period in 2006.

Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF), the Middle East's number one travel retailerby customer spend, has registered a turnover of AED 90.2m (USD24.5m) inQ1 2007 - over one quarter positive growth of 27.8 percent on the sameperiod last year. The average spend per customer rose to $51 during thequarter. In terms of revenue, Abu Dhabi Duty Free ranks second in theMiddle East and 34th worldwide.

The first quarter of 2007 did also bring international recognition forthe airport as a gateway of choice. The Airport bagged two prestigiousawards by the Airports Council International (ACI), an international bodyof 573 members operating over 1,643 airports in 178 countries. The awards,based on annual feedback of international passengers, confirmed ADIA asthe best Airport in Africa and the Middle East in terms of service quality,courtesy, and customer service.

ATM 2007 would give participants and visitors first-hand exposure to AbuDhabi's plans to become one of the world's most sophisticated aviationgateways.

Visitors to ADAC stand will be able to have a glimpse of how the Airportwould look like. ADAC stand features a model of the Midfield TerminalComplex, the flagship terminal that will bring the Airport's overall capacityto 20 million passengers by 2010, which can then be further expanded graduallyto 40 million to cope with future growth. The project includes also constructionof an interim terminal for Etihad Airways, a second runway, a state-of-the-artair traffic control complex, new cargo facilities, and an airport freetrade zonePeter Hoslin, ADAC Head of Marketing, said "ATM provides us with a timelyopportunity to talk and listen to the travel and tourism experts. Suchan interaction is valuable in that it helps us ensure that the new facilitiescater to the needs of the industry at world-class standards. It also allowsus to show why Abu Dhabi and Al Ain International Airports provide goodvalue to the industry, not only as transit airports but also as originaldestination hubs.