New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) For the first time, the Arab emirate of Abu Dhabi will feature at India's oldest travel and tourism mart SATTE this year to promote its niche in the growing luxury tourism market in India.

'Abu Dhabi will make its pavilion debut at SATTE 2010, India's biggest travel industry event...This follows India's identification as a key high-end luxury growth market by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA),' an official statement of the tourism board said.

South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) showcases tourism products from several countries and is especially known for diverse luxury merchandise. SATTE 2010 is scheduled for Jan 28-29 here.

The 60 square metre Abu Dhabi pavilion will be hosted in collaboration with several industry partners, including Etihad Airways, Le Meridien Hotel, Radisson Blu, Aloft Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre and DBA & Sons Travel, the ADTA statement added.

'We've identified SATTE as an important forum for an emerging destination such as ours to build awareness and forge new partnerships,' said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, ADTA's international promotions manager.

'India is already proving to be a significant market for Abu Dhabi and was the fourth most productive market in 2009 in terms of hotel guests - largely driven by the business and visiting friends or relatives segments,' he added.

According to ADTA statistics, 44,991 of India's nationals stayed in hotels throughout the emirate in the first nine months of 2009, accounting for almost 4 percent of all hotel guests during that period.

However, ADTA says that despite the encouraging figures, market awareness of Abu Dhabi as a tourism destination is still relatively limited.

'In particular, awareness is low amongst the rapidly-expanding middle-upper income classes, and we are looking to address this gap through our debut participation at SATTE,' said Al Nuaimi, adding that their target 'will be the high-end luxury and cultural seekers'.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates, which make up the United Arab Emirates federation and is home to Abu Dhabi city, the country's capital.