Tourexpi
Full recovery is expected to materialise in 2025,
with the Middle East being the first region globally to recover its Chinese
inbound market.
Underscoring that prediction, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 which
takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 6-9 May, is set to welcome
twice the number of Chinese exhibitors and travel professionals, compared with
its 2019 show.
China lifted its covid-related travel restrictions
on 8th January 2023, allowing Chinese tourists to travel abroad, without
having to quarantine upon their return. Bookings for overseas travel
during Chinese New Year, soared by 540% compared with the same period in 2022,
according to data from the Chinese travel site Trip.com.
Danielle
Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market commented, “Last
year, some analysts were predicting that the Chinese outbound market would
recover to around six million per month by the summer of 2023, driven in part
by the pent-up demand especially from young, affluent Chinese.
“However, that rebound wasn’t as great as many
tourism professionals had hoped for and now analysts are confident that this
year, we could see Chinese visitor numbers double year-on-year, with major
destinations in the Middle East recovering quicker than any other
internationally, especially for luxury travel.
“That sentiment has also been borne out by the
latest spending data for the 2024 Chinese New Year. According to Chinese
payment platform Alipay, the number of Chinese overseas transactions were 7%
higher than those recorded in 2019.
“The most popular Middle East destinations include
Dubai, Saudi’s AlUla, Egypt and Jordan – Dubai alone welcomed more than one
million Chinese visitors in 2019,” said Curtis.
Chinese participation at ATM 2024 is expected to
more than double compared with ATM 2019, with new exhibitors that include
private sector companies such as Heytrip International, Jiangsu Intelligence
Equipment Co, Flightroutes24 Travel Company Ltd, Feeyo Technology and
anticipated destination representation from Macao Government Tourism Office,
China Cultural Centre in the UAE and the Hongkong Tourism Board.
ATM is also organising a dedicated conference
session on this key market in its Global Stage, entitled ‘Capitalising
on China’s Predicted Tourism Surge’, in association with Huawei. This
session, which takes place on Monday 6th May from 15:10 to 15:50, will
explore the changing trends, cultural preferences and the role of mobile
marketing and tourism predictions in the Chinese tourism market.
In line with this year’s show theme ‘Empowering
Innovation: Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship’, other highlights at
the 31st edition of ATM include entrepreneurship-focused sessions as well
as dedicated sessions for other key source markets such as India and the
Americas. As well as showcasing a range of event features based around the
theme, informative content will be delivered across the Global Stage and the
new Future Stage at ATM 2024, led by respected industry keynote speakers, and
thought leaders.
Held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre,
ATM 2024’s strategic partners include the Dubai Department of Economy and
Tourism (DET), Destination Partner; Emirates, Official Airline Partner; IHG
Hotels & Resorts, Official Hotel Partner and Al Rais Travel, Official DMC
Partner.
Image
Credit: © ATM
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