Forget Europe, China’s ‘extremely valuable and coveted’ tourists are heading for the Gulf

Analysts expect ever larger numbers of Chinese professionals, entrepreneurs and tourists to visit as air links normalise with the Middle East region

Luxury travellers are sure to find a warm welcome, as are those searching for ancient cultural and historical sites – plus ‘very good shopping’

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The skyline of Dubai, including the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa – in the United Arab Emirates. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:30am, 14 May 2023

The oil-rich desert kingdoms of the Gulf are looking to China’s famously high-spending, trailblazing tourists to fuel their ambitions of competing with Europe’s cultural centres and idyllic Asian island resorts to become the world’s leading travel destination.

Following the lifting of China’s zero-tolerance Covid restrictions earlier this year, officials in the Gulf are now optimistic that the number of Chinese tourists and other travellers will reach pre-pandemic levels as early as next Lunar New Year in February 2024.

Long-haul carriers such as Dubai’s Emirates, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Saudia have revived most of their flights to the Asia-Pacific. And the Middle East – alongside Africa – was the region with the highest travel recovery from China in the second quarter of 2023, according to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys which projected a 75 per cent increase in seat capacity for outbound Chinese travel to the region.

Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, says it has restored 85 per cent of its pre-pandemic flights to China.

An Emirates Airbus A380 comes in to land at Dubai International Airport. The world’s largest long-haul airline has restored 85 per cent of its pre-pandemic flights to China. Photo: AFP

“The good reputation and strong connectivity of Gulf airlines will benefit long-haul global travel, with Gulf countries acting as a hub,” said Sienna Parulis-Cook, marketing and communications director at Beijing-based travel-focused marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International. “For the Chinese outbound market, the Gulf serves as a very important hub for travel onwards to Africa, as well as to Europe.”

Since China was the world’s largest and highest-spending international outbound tourism market for many years before the pandemic, “it’s extremely valuable and coveted by many – indeed, most – international tourism destinations around the world,” Parulis-Cook told This Week in Asia. “The Middle East is no exception.”