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The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, is embarking on a promotional tour to several cities across China in May to capitalise on the growing popularity of the emirate as a tourist destination.
Inbound visitor arrivals from China have seen dramatic rises over the past few years, with the number of hotel guest rising 31 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year and surging 48 percent in the first three months of this year.
China has now overtaken India as the largest overseas source market for international visitors into the emirate with close to 100,000 Chinese staying in the emirate’s 167 hotels and hotel apartments between January and March this year. The number of guest nights has also climbed by 48 percent to 138,747 in the first quarter of this year.
TCA Abu Dhabi will promote the emirate during an initial four-city roadshow beginning on May 4th in Chengdu and stopping in Wuhan, Guangzhou and ending in Nanjing on May 9th. It will be the first time that TCA Abu Dhabi has led a delegation to Wuhan, a city of more than 10 million people, and Nanjing, one of the largest cities in eastern China.
The roadshow, which will also be attended by Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and hotels and tour operators, takes place as the emirate strives to reach its ambitious target of 600,000 Chinese visitors a year by 2021.
On May 10th, TCA Abu Dhabi will also attend the ITB China Exhibition 2017 in Shanghai, along with partners and stakeholders, to demonstrate the emirate’s credentials in hosting Chinese visitors and encouraging them to visit and explore Abu Dhabi and its diverse attractions.
Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions and Overseas Offices for TCA Abu Dhabi, said, "China has been identified as one of our priority markets offering enormous growth potential in the future. Each year, we are seeing impressive growth in the number of hotel guest arrivals and the first quarter of this year has been excellent, with close to 50 percent growth over the same period in 2016.
"We are trying to make the emirate as welcoming and easy to travel around as possible for our Chinese guests and will continue to support and implement new initiatives to make Abu Dhabi even more enticing."
The number of hotel guest arrivals from China has gained momentum following the UAE’s recent implementation of a law allowing Chinese visitors a visa on arrival to Abu Dhabi International Airport, which has been combined with efforts to develop a wide range of products and packages that meet expectations for Chinese travellers.
Numerous tourist attractions and hotels in Abu Dhabi have received the China Tourism Academy’s Welcome Chinese Certification, awarded to distinguished hospitality establishments and destinations that offer high-quality services to Chinese visitors, including Mandarin-speaking staff members.
Most destinations and attractions in the emirate, including Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, Yas Waterworld, Al Ain’s Wadi Adventure, Zayed Sports City and Souk Qaryat Al Beri, as well as all of Yas Island’s entertainment destinations and hotels, accept China Union Pay bank cards, making it easier for Chinese visitors to pay for goods and services.
From the 1st July, Etihad Airways will begin operating its B787 Dreamliner on their daily Beijing to Abu Dhabi route. The airline currently operates 28 flights per week to Abu Dhabi from four major cities in Greater China: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong, providing excellent air connectivity to the emirate.
Earlier this year, TCA Abu Dhabi led a delegation of the emirate’s tourism stakeholders and partners to the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, COTTM, for a three-day event at the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre in Beijing. Now in its 13th year, COTTM is regarded as one of the industry’s most important platforms in Asia and remains the only business-to-business event in China focusing purely on the burgeoning outbound market.
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