Recently, the cities of Al Ain and Abu Dhabi hosted the China Visitors Summit, which is recognized as the largest global gathering of professionals from the Chinese travel industry held outside of China.
A delegation of approximately 160 key buyers from the Chinese travel sector attended, including travel agencies, tour operators, luxury travel firms, managers of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, along with corporate travel planners. They engaged with local tourism suppliers like hotels, destination managers, tourist attractions, museums, domestic tour operators, and shopping centers.
The event facilitated over 3,000 business meetings between Chinese buyers and Emirati suppliers over two days of direct interactions held at the Rotana Hotel and Conference Centre in Al Ain.
It is noteworthy that the global tourism business generated by these buyers reached around $1 billion last year, accounting for over 1.5 million international travelers, primarily focused on the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council region as a whole.
200 Million Trips
China currently stands as the largest source of international tourism worldwide, with its citizens holding 200 million passports. They recorded approximately 200 million outbound trips last year.
Chinese tourists’ spending has surpassed $300 billion annually across the globe, establishing China as a crucial source for any international travel destination.
The summit provided Emirati travel companies with the chance to select Chinese buyers and create personalized meeting schedules targeting specific sectors, from luxury leisure travel to business tourism and conferences.
Long-term Partnerships
According to Alexander Glus, the CEO of China i2i, the organization behind the event, “The goal of the China Visitors Summit extends beyond merely scheduling meetings; it offers a dynamic platform for establishing long-term partnerships between the UAE and leading figures from the Chinese travel industry. Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general have become essential destinations for Chinese travelers, and the summit provides direct access and knowledge necessary for suppliers to thrive in this vital market.”