Experience Abu Dhabi’s New Campaign Puts Kids in Charge of the Family Holiday

This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner.

Experience Abu Dhabi is flipping the script on family travel marketing by asking a simple question: What if kids designed their ideal vacation instead of parents? That idea is at the heart of “Kids Recommended,” a new initiative within Experience Abu Dhabi’s larger summer campaign, “Totally Recommended.”

Drawing on insights from over 7,000 children aged five to 12 and their parents across nine countries, including France, Italy, Germany, China, the U.K., the U.S., India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, the campaign reimagines what a family holiday looks like and who gets to define it.

“We’ve seen strong growth in summer visitation to Abu Dhabi over the past few years, and families are driving much of it. We wanted to understand the family segment more deeply, so rather than just asking parents, we decided to go straight to the source: the kids,” said Emma Campbell, sector marketing director at DCT Abu Dhabi.

Experience Abu Dhabi commissioned a study across nine markets to better understand family travel preferences and help shape its summer campaign. One number stood out: 74% of parents said they chose destinations based on what their kids would enjoy most. This insight became the basis for new thinking in both experience design and marketing.

The research revealed three core themes:

• Connection beats content: Despite the dominance of screens, 90% of surveyed children said they wanted to make new friends on holiday. Social interaction matters more than passive entertainment.

• Imagination drives choice: 89% said they wanted to step inside the worlds of their favorite games or films, and 85% wanted to role-play as astronauts, zookeepers, or race-car drivers.

• Preferences are highly local: U.K. kids craved surprise adventures (93%), French children ranked water play highest (97%), Indian kids put museums on their must-do list (75%), and Chinese kids prioritized calm family time (89%+). The myth of a universal “family audience” clearly doesn’t hold.

The data challenged the standard one-size-fits-all approach to family travel messaging and informed content priorities across markets.

“One consistent message from parents was: if the kids are happy, we’re happy. So, it made sense to center kids in the research,” said Campbell. “The big takeaway for us was that family travel is deeply personal, and kids must be included in the planning process. They’re savvy and valuable co-decision makers.”

The real test of the “Kids Recommended” campaign was whether the research could materially influence the traveler experience. Could the data go beyond strategy decks and inform what travelers see, do, and share on the ground?

That question led to the creation of a seven-day “Kid-Recommended Itinerary,” co-created with children during facilitated workshops. Instead of adults projecting what they thought kids wanted, the process allowed young participants to articulate their ideal trip, such as how each day should start and what kind of pace made it fun rather than exhausting. The final itinerary reflects a curated blend of high-energy activity, cultural engagement, downtime, and discovery.

Highlights include:

• A day in the mangroves for kayaking, nature spotting, and gentle exploration
• Take part in rich cultural experiences at the House of Artisans, with weekends filled with heritage discovery, stories, and interactive activities.
• Themed adrenaline with a triple hit of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, and Yas Waterworld

• Museum moments at Louvre Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi

• A desert night under the stars, where families gather for stargazing, folklore, and unplugged connection

“We tailored our messaging to match what families in each market wanted and built a Kid-Recommended Itinerary based on what children asked for: mixing play, discovery, and rest. Kids even get a sticker-book passport at hotel check-in to track their trip,” said Campbell. “We’re also working with partners like Etihad and Miral to carry the family-first theme through every touchpoint.”

The itinerary alone isn’t the differentiator — it’s how Abu Dhabi has packaged and promoted it that reveals the deeper strategy. The emirate launched a series of family-first incentives to add value:

• Kids Go Free (through September 30): One child under 12 gets free park entry, hotel stay, and meals with every paying adult.

• Summer Camp Staycations: Select hotels now run structured day camps so children can explore while parents decompress without leaving the property.

Layered on top are short-form videos from young content creators from key markets including China, Italy, U.S., India, and Saudi Arabia that show the itinerary in action. These creators weren’t given scripts — they were given access, freedom, and a camera. The resulting videos do what polished ads often fail to do: generate trust. Why read a brochure when a 10-year-old can show you?

“The whole team tapped into their inner child for this campaign. It allowed us to reimagine destination storytelling in a more playful, participatory way,” said Campbell.

According to Campbell, DCT Abu Dhabi sees “Kids Recommended” as a step toward a longer-term shift in how it approaches family travel. The goal is to stay responsive to how modern families travel, plan, and choose where to go.

Infrastructure is one area where that future is already taking shape. The destination is expanding its mix of experiences with upcoming cultural icons like the Zayed National Museum and the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. Theme parks and wildlife attractions will sit alongside world-class galleries and heritage spaces, all within a short radius. That means less transit and more memory-making.

However, the real shift may be behind the scenes. The campaign’s underlying methodology illustrates how Experience Abu Dhabi approaches product development and content strategy.

“We rely on structured insight to guide how we build campaigns and shape visitor experiences. The research plays an ongoing role. We keep listening to families, looking at behavior, and turning that into action,” said Campbell.

According to Campbell, future content will follow the same rulebook: different markets will continue to receive customized messaging, formats, and tone.

“We’re building something that grows with families. Their needs keep evolving, so we stay close to the data and the audience and keep adjusting. The goal is to create experiences that feel personal, imaginative, and lasting,” Campbell said.

To learn more about family-friendly attractions in Abu Dhabi, click here.

This content was created collaboratively by DCT Abu Dhabi and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.