Abu Dhabi has cut its tourism fees to help increase the sector’s competitiveness.

The Abu Dhabi Executive Committee has approved a proposal to reduce tourism fees from 6 percent to 3.5 percent and municipality fees from 4 percent to 2 percent.

The committee also sanctioned a proposal to reduce municipality fees for hotel rooms from AED15 ($4) to AED10 per room, per night and to collect the fees on half-yearly, instead of monthly basis.

Abu Dhabi has identified the tourism sector as a key component its economic diversification drive, and the aimed at boosting sector's performance.

Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) said will enhance the emirate’s international tourism competitiveness by strengthening its value proposition and by encouraging investments in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

“With this decision, hotels and hospitality establishments can achieve more growth and stay in line with the continuous development of the emirate’s infrastructure and its wide variety of cultural and leisure attractions. This is in addition to DCT Abu Dhabi’s promotional focus in key markets, adding impetus to these success stories and raising the occupancy rate in the emirate," he said.