Abu Dhabi pushes for more Chinese tourists
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Abu Dhabi welcomed 23,618 Chinese hotel guests in the first seven months of 2013, up 36% over the same period last year. The emirate is expecting further increases as the industry develops tailored products and attractions to cater for the lucrative Chinese market.
According to Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), Chinese visitors accounted for 44,094 room nights in the emirate’s 146 hotel and hotel apartments from January to July this year, up 38% over the same period last year, with average length of stay increasing marginally by two percent to 1.87 days.
The on-going 2nd Chinese Visitor Summit is being attended by 75 top-tier Chinese travel buyers. Speaking at the event, Mohammed Al Dhaheri, director of strategy & policy, TCA Abu Dhabi, said the emirate’s tourism industry is now acutely aware of the need to tailor to specific Chinese needs.
“Local stakeholders are developing specific packages catering for peak Chinese travel times, such as Golden Week and Chinese New Year. The Emirate is also increasingly employing Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff. Abu Dhabi will continue to see sustained interest from the biggest outbound tourism sectors, which spent US$ 102 billion on international tourism in 2012.”
According to VISA, Chinese visitors spent 258 million dollars in the UAE last year; up 14% on the previous year, with the lion’s share, 85%, going towards shopping, entertainment and accommodation. Chinese visitors spent 182 million dollars on retail in the UAE last year – up 11.4% over 2011.
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