Dubai attracting more and more Chinese visitors

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has reported continued growth in visitors from China.

The emirate capital has seen a robust growth of 119% in overnight Chinese visitors since 2014 and a year-on-year increase of 41.4% overnight Chinese visitors from 2016 to 2017.

Combined with a number of key agreements signed with major players in China, Dubai Tourism has also reconfirmed its continued focus on its fourth top source market. The country is now one of Dubai’s fastest-growing source markets, closing the first five months of 2018 with a record 400,547 visitors, this growth is predicted to continue in 2018.

H.E. Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism, said: “Our approach to engaging Chinese tourists is two-fold, with landmark partnerships, investments and marketing activities undertaken in 48 cities across China, partnered with a city-level China-readiness strategy in Dubai to enhance the experience of Chinese tourists.

“The introduction of visa-on-arrival for Chinese nationals in 2016, working in conjunction with the increase in air capacity by national carriers from China – currently standing at 30 flights a week, a 13 per cent increase in non-stop seat capacity in 2017 – has also contributed to rapid growth.”