Arab nations courting China to boost tourism
The number of Chinese tourists is expected to double in Dubai, up to 543,000 by 2023. In Abu Dhabi, growth is set to reach 300 per cent. Chinese Muslims religious visitors are expected to choose especially Makkah and Madinah. Egypt too is betting on a Chinese surge. In North Africa, the authorities plan to encourage domestic tourism.
Dubai (AsiaNews) – For Arab countries, tourism is a vital part of their national economies. In view of this, local governments are trying to boost their tourist sector by betting on Chinese visitors as well as local tourists. This comes as the industry continues to reel from rising security concerns over sectarian strife and Islamist insurgencies.
Chinese visitors to Dubai are expected to double in a decade. Rising income levels in the world’s most populous nation and improved flight connections through the UAE will drive tourism growth from the country, says a report from Oxford Economics and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Chinese visitor numbers to the emirate are predicted to surge 98 per cent in the ten years through 2023, to 545,000, according to the report.
In 2023, Abu Dhabi is expected to receive 177,000 Chinese tourists, up by 300 per cent on 2013 numbers. About 120,350 guests from China checked into Abu Dhabi hotels last year, staying on average for 1.67 nights.
Dubai, followed by Abu Dhabi, is expected to record the fastest regional growth in Chinese tourists. Travel to Makkah and Madinah is expected to grow by half through 2023, as China’s Muslim population rises to 2.1 per cent of the country’s population by 2030.
Although about 350,000 Chinese tourists checked into Dubai’s hotels and hotel apartments last year, an increase of almost 25 per cent over 2013, globally, however, Asian and North American destinations remain far more popular for Chinese tourists than the Middle East.
Still, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation expects the number of international tourists to the Middle East and North Africa to triple to 195 million by 2030.
Bookings to nations in North Africa and the Middle East, which had been recovering after the Arab spring unrest, fell last year following deadly attacks claimed by Islamic extremists in Tunisia and Egypt.
Nevertheless, visitor numbers from China to Egypt soared last year despite a series of security blows to the country's key tourism sector after the government authorised charter flights from the Asian country.
The number of Chinese visitors to Egypt in fact more than doubled, from 60,000 in 2014 to 135,000, in 2015, "in a year in which we suffered a lot", Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou said.
However, several incidents hit the country’s tourism industry.
In September, Egyptian security forces mistakenly killed eight Mexican tourists in the vast Western Desert. The following month a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai desert shortly after taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board. Hundreds of Russian and British holidaymakers were stranded for days.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the incident but there is no definitive proof that Jihadis were behind it.
In addition to China, Egypt has also tried to promote itself in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab nations.
In North Africa, Morocco has stepped up efforts to develop its domestic tourism market to help offset fluctuations in foreign arrivals. The domestic market now accounts for 33 per cent of the nation's total tourism activity, up from 25 per cent in 2012.
"Domestic tourism is the thing that will keep you going during difficult times,” said Jordanian Tourism Minister Nayef Al-Fayez. In fact, “we have neglected in our region local tourism. I think maybe what happened to us in the region is a wakeup call."
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