UAE-based TIME Hotels Management is to target the Chinese tourism market coming into the emirates, it has said.
The announcement comes prior to the company’s participation in the Chinese Visitor Summit, being held in Dubai on September 5 and 6.
As part of its efforts to attract Chinese guests, the company is accepting some Chinese debit cards and has mandarin-speaking staff.
”We’ve been tracking the travel patterns of the dragon economy tourist since the Chinese government granted the UAE ‘approved destination’ status in 2009. With a flying time of around eight hours, and the recent surge in connectivity with route expansion by both Emirates and Etihad, as well as Chinese carriers, the UAE is a hugely popular destination,” said TIME Hotels Management area vice president, Mohamed Awadalla.
“Officials have released data that shows outbound tourism from China has grown 20% in the first five months of 2012, which is consistent with our experience and that of the Dubai market overall.
“We too have seen a significant increase of inbound Chinese business to our Dubai properties over the last 12 months, with the TIME Grand Plaza in Al Qusais reporting an 86% rise in room nights year-to-date from leisure visitors,” added Awadalla.
The World Tourism Council said that the number of Chinese outbound tourists in 2011 was up 38% from figures in 2010. Research from Mastercard showed that 300,000 Chinese tourists visited the UAE in 2011, spending an estimated total of US $334 million.
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