Chinese travel to the Middle East set for full recovery by 2025 | TTG Asia

Middle Eastern travel and hospitality stakeholders expect Chinese outbound numbers to improve in 2024 and make a complete recovery by 2025.

Amanda Elder, chief commercial officer and member of the management board, Kempinski Hotels, told TTG Asia that while the number of Chinese guests at her Middle Eastern properties has been lower than that of sister properties in destinations like Bangkok, Bali, and Singapore, performance has increased noticeably this year.

“We anticipate that within the next 18 months, visitor numbers from China will return to their pre-Covid levels,” said Elder.

According to HBX Group, one of the leading B2B players in travel tech space, Chinese outbound to the Middle East grew by 10 per cent in the 2024 fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024) when compared against the previous year. The most popular Middle Eastern destination among Chinese outbound travellers for 2024 fiscal year was Dubai, with Doha, Medina, and Kuwait making up the rest of the list.

Paul Anthony, digital commercialisation director of HBX Group, said: “Among Chinese outbound to destinations in the Middle East, around 30 per cent of arrivals stay between four and six nights while more than 20 per cent of them stay more than seven nights. The Chinese look for culture, shopping and luxury experiences while in the Middle East.”

DMCs in the region told TTG Asia that Chinese incentive travel movement has turned out stronger than leisure traffic.

Samir Mehta, chief operating officer, Desert Adventures Tourism, said enhanced air links between China and the Middle East are a factor.

“Recently, we managed a large group of nearly 1,400 Chinese incentive winners,” he shared.