Middle East

Chinese arrivals to GCC to go up by 21%

Photo Courtesy: Dubai Tourism

Chinese arrivals to GCC predicted to go up by 21 per cent to 2.5 million visitors by 2021, according to the data released ahead of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018. The ATM is scheduled to be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22 to 25, 2018.

Currently, GCC attracts 1.9 per cent of China’s total tourist outbound market. The upward trend is expected to continue as 154 million Chinese tourists are expected to travel abroad in 2018, followed by 244 million in 2022, according to a release issued by ATM.

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ATM exhibition director Simon Press said: “The outbound Chinese market represents a vast, untapped pool of affluent and adventurous travellers and the GCC has been a destination of choice for years. Owing to its many business opportunities and a new generation of leisure attractions, figures show the GCC is poised to further capitalise on these trends over the coming years as millions of Chinese make their first international trip,” said Simon Press, ATM Exhibition Director.

ATM 2018 will host a panel discussion titled “What Middle East Businesses can do to capture the attention (and wallets) of Chinese luxury travellers.” Hosted by Chloé Reuter, an expert in the Chinese luxury market and Founder of Reuter Communications, the discussion will explore the opportunities surrounding China’s 500 million millennials.