Travellers passing through Abu Dhabi International Airport are being urged to vote online or by texting 3888 from their mobile phones for the UAE’s Bu Tinah Island, which is competing to become one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) will have its Bu Tinah Voting booth in Terminal 1 of the Airport during peak hours from July 25 until August 25, 2010.
The booth is expected to attract thousands of potential voters. Abu Dhabi International Airport sees approximately 30,000 travellers and visitors on a daily basis, and it employs around 4,500 staff. It takes less than 2 minutes to place a vote online, and airport passengers are also being encouraged to vote by SMS as many times as they like.
“We’ve chosen the airport because it is one of the busiest places in Abu Dhabi this time of year. This way, visitors from all over the world will be able to learn more about Abu Dhabi’s wonderful natural heritage,” said Laila Yousef Al Hassan, Manager of Communications and Marketing at EAD.
Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President Airports’ Operations at Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) commented: “At Abu Dhabi Airports Company, we continuously strive to develop our service quality to offer our passengers a unique travel experience within a world class facility. Derived from this ambition and from our commitment to support our community, culture and heritage, we are pleased to host the Bu Tinah voting booth at Terminal 1 in Abu Dhabi International Airport, and we hope that with our collective efforts, we will succeed in promoting our cultural and natural treasures to the rest of the world.”
In March 2010, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched an international campaign to encourage people to vote for Bu Tinah Island as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The UAE’s own Bu Tinah Island was shortlisted among 28 finalists from a list of 447 global sites. Winners of the New 7 Wonders of Nature will be announced on November 11, 2011. The campaign is under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of EAD. The Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), a master developer of major cultural, residential and tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi, is the campaign’s Platinum Sponsor.
Since the launch of the campaign, the Bu Tinah Island Voting Booth has toured more than 17 organisations across the UAE, as well as universities, schools, public exhibitions and events. This has resulted in EAD attracting thousands of votes for the Island whilst also raising the public’s awareness on the UAE’s fragile and rich biodiversity.
Bu Tinah Island, located around 130 km west of Abu Dhabi, is a unique island and a core area of the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve - the first marine biosphere reserve in the region. In spite of the harsh temperatures and salinity, its habitats and species, including coral, seagrass, dugongs and sea turtles, continue to thrive, making the island an important location and living lab for climate change studies for years to come.
