LUXURY travel in the Middle East is proving to be a huge draw for high-end Chinese tourists looking to splash their cash, with tourism stakeholders in Abu Dhabi and Dubai saying the market is showing no signs of slowing down.
Fiona Liu, senior executive, China Representative Office, department of tourism and commerce marketing (DTCM), government of Dubai, said: “We are expecting a 25 per cent jump in Chinese arrivals this year. There were 180,000 Chinese visitors for the first three quarters of 2012, compared to 193,000 for the whole of 2011.”
Tina Zhang, senior executive-travel trade, China, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, explained that the Chinese were attracted by the notion that Dubai and Abu Dhabi were high-end destinations offering luxury hotel stays, indulgent cuisine, duty-free shopping, and activities such as desert safaris, horse racing, camel riding, tennis and golf.
“The burgeoning demand for the Middle East is due to ramped up promotions in China by the Abu Dhabi and Dubai tourism authorities,” she said.
Kiven Xing, supervisor, inbound tours operation, Golden Ocean Travels Dubai, noted that 90 per cent of his business now originates from China. “Since the DTCM sanctioned the large scale movement of Chinese tourists to Dubai in 2008, many inbound operators have been actively targeting the China market, which has grown by leaps and bounds.”
Triston Zhao, senior sales manager, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai, said business from China had been especially encouraging since the property opened a representative office in Shanghai in May last year.
“This year, we even managed to meet our annual targets by October, and have racked up 20,000 roomnights from China thus far,” he said.
