Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital wins Middle East Responsible Tourism Award 2015

The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, ADFH, has won the Middle East's Responsible Tourism Award at the World Travel Awards 2015, for the third consecutive year. These awards are acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade and aim to celebrate brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence.

Established by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, EAD, in 1999, the ADFH is internationally recognised for its commitment to the UAE's culture and economy and for its contribution to biodiversity conservation. Apart from being the largest falcon hospital in the world with an ever-increasing influx of patients, ADFH has become a popular award-winning tourism destination.

Dr. Margit Gabriele Muller, Director of the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, said, "At Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, we celebrate the majestic falcon species and are delighted to introduce our visitors to the beautiful world of falcons and falconry. The hospital's award-winning tourism programme offers its guests an unforgettable experience with the unique opportunity to get close to an important element of UAE culture and heritage – falconry. With our Shaheen Conference Centre we extend our love and passion of falcons to business travellers and we also provide MICE, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, events in a unique and inspirational atmosphere".

"It is a great accomplishment to win this most significant award which underlines and strengthens ADFH's capabilities and status in the tourism industry. This clearly shows the excellence and on-going high quality of ADFH's tourism programme which enhances the experience of travellers visiting Abu Dhabi Emirate," Dr. Muller added.

The guided tours of ADFH feature a combination of cultural tourism and wildlife tourism in different languages including English, Arabic, French and German, and are held twice daily on weekdays and once on the weekends. For its unique tourism programme and quality of its performance and services, the ADFH has already been honoured with 25 international awards. In 2014, the hospital received the Certificate of Excellence "2014 Winner" by the world's largest travel site, Trip Advisor, for its tour programme which recognises ADFH for earning exceptional traveller ratings over the past years. ADFH has been ranked as the second top tourism attraction in Abu Dhabi Emirate by TripAdvisor website.

In 2012, ADFH established an advanced online booking system for its tours through its website, and teamed up with major tour operators and hotels to make tour bookings for local and international visitors even more accessible.

The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital began welcoming tourists in 2007, as a major diversification of its services. In the past eight years, it has opened its doors to tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world, making ADFH one of the most sought after tourism destinations in the emirate. Since then, the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital has experienced an annual increase of visitors by 40%.