Celebrity magic and nostalgia: Yas Island's Badr Bourji on selling more than a holiday in India

Seeing Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, and Hrithik Roshan at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, many assumed the video was a trailer for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD) 2. It was not, but it was an ad campaign casting coup of sorts for one of the most popular travel projects in the Middle East as it focuses its lens on India more than ever.

“From an international market perspective, India is our biggest source market,” says Badr Bourji, senior vice president, marketing, Yas Island Abu Dhabi. 

A literal island in the Abu Dhabi emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the development of Yas Island into a tourism hub was initiated in 2006. Today, it boasts attractions such as the Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld, numerous entertainment venues, and live events at the Etihad Arena.

“Since we started going big in India, say in 2019, our visitation then was approximately 300,000-350,000 max. Last year we closed at 780,000, and this year we're looking at at least a million,” claims Bourji. 

“You'd be surprised to know that some of these campaigns maybe have no more than six to eight million dirhams, or let's say a maximum of $2 million of media budget.”

Badr Bourji on Yas Island's ad spends. 

A 2024 Deccan Chronicle report says the island destination enjoyed “a remarkable 72% increase in visitation to Yas Theme Parks from GCC countries, followed by a 24% increase from India.”

A major reason for this spike in footfalls goes to Yas Island’s celebrity-driven advertising, which focuses on experiences rather than what’s on offer. There was comedian and actor Kevin Hart, who donned the hat of chief island officer and went about Hartifying the place. Aquaman and Khal Drogo Jason Momoa came next, and recently, Ryan Reynolds closed his stint as the place’s Chief Island Officer. 

“To us, it's mainly engaging with our audiences,” says Bourji, adding that the marketing team does not take a commercial-first approach. “I'm not trying to push the product down the throats of Indian travellers. No, I'm creating an experience that would reflect the memory you would establish.”

He reveals the secret sauce: “The mandate has always been whatever we do needs to be at a scale that creates buzz and organic PR coverage and media coverage.”

Choosing a celebrity 

The cast of ZNMD was not the first Indian face(s) to promote Yas Island; it was Ranveer Singh who, in March 2022, became the face of Yas Island with the ‘Yas Hai Khaas’ campaign.

“He is an entertainer at heart,” says Bourji and notes that it was the very reason Yas Island chose him as its face.The tourism destination only goes for those celebs who can match the entertainment value it offers.

“It's the entertainment value. And even what we offer in advertising is not necessarily just to slap on a product and hope that it works. We don't do that kind of advertising.” 

“We realised nostalgia is critical for us because the children of yesterday are the parents of today. If you think about it, you want to create an emotional bond and an emotional connection with the parents of today.”

Entertaining ads, always 

Getting a celebrity to endorse you is easy, but how you use them to tell the story is what matters. “It's pretty much more of cinematic narratives, whether it's movie-like, cinematic, or even just humour-like narratives. We want to engage with our fans first.” 

It makes sense if one watches episode two of the ZNMD cast’s time at Yas Island, where the three amigos try to pull a prank on a staff member, or Kevin Hart looking to join and lead the Justice League, a group of superheroes from DC Comics and Warner Bros. 

But the ZNMD ad campaigns appear to depend on nostalgia more than anything because many people reminisce about bits of the movie as they wait for its sequel. Turns out, it’s not the first time Yas Island has looked to the past. 

Stayin' On Yas, a 2021 campaign, took inspiration from the Bee Gees classic to tell why one stays at Yas Island; it has clocked in over a million views on YouTube. Then there was the Kuwaiti singing band Miami Band, which had gone quiet for a decade or two; it came back to life for Yas Island in 2023; its campaign video has 48 million views. 

“We realised nostalgia is critical for us because the children of yesterday are the parents of today. If you think about it, you want to create an emotional bond and an emotional connection with the parents of today,” explains Bourji. 

Who’s it for?

India is one of Yas Island’s biggest markets, and it is looking at the children of yesterday who are the parents of today. “If you're looking at demographics, these families (Yas Island targets families) could range from 30- to 35-year-olds up to 55-year-olds. That's kind of where the majority of our pie is,” states the SVP of marketing. 
The place targets Indians from India as well as the diaspora living in the UAE.

Ask him about the places Yas Island sees as competition: “If you actually want the best theme park experience, you'll have it on Yas Island. You don't need to travel 16 hours or 8-10 hours by flight anywhere else in the world,” he answers. 

The timing of the ZNMD campaign’s release in March can point to the incoming summer vacation period and Yas Island cashing in on it. Bourji explains February to early April is the time when Indian travellers do their research.

“You’re seeding Yas Island into a consumer’s mind. When they think of their summer vacation or their Diwali or Christmas vacations, they’d have Yas Island on their mind.” 

Tens of millions on ad spends? Maybe not 

All these celebrities and ads don’t come cheap. But, it’s not really a big dent in Yas Island’s pockets, it turns out. “You'd be surprised to know that some of these campaigns maybe have no more than six to eight million dirhams, or let's say a maximum of $2 million of media budget,” reveals Bourji. 

“There are a lot of brands today in India and the UAE that work with celebrities and invest an equal amount of money, but they don’t get that kind of buzz.”