Tag Archives: Beijing

SAUDIA has officially launched its inaugural flight from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam to Beijing, China. The new route will operate twice a week in each direction, as part of a connecting flight from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. With this addition, Dammam becomes the third city from which SAUDIA operates flights to Beijing, following Jeddah and Riyadh. The total weekly seating capacity between the Kingdom and Beijing is approximately 1,310 seats across 4 flights, while the weekly capacity to Guangzhou is 1,966 seats across 6 flights. SAUDIA has a designated Boeing B787 Dreamliner, known for its high operational efficiency and comfort, offering guests an elevated travel experience. SAUDIA celebrated the inaugural flight from Dammam to Beijing with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony in the departure hall. The event was attended by Mr. Wang Qimin, The Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Engr. Mohammed Al-Hassany, CEO of Dammam Airports Company (DACO), and Mr. Wail Basaffar, the Assistant Vice President of KSA Sales at Saudia. Eng. Mohammed bin Ali Al-Hassany, CEO of Dammam Airports Company, said: “The launch of flights to Beijing, in partnership with Saudia, reflects our commitment to diversifying the international destinations of King Fahd International Airport to meet travelers’ aspirations and enhance their experience. This initiative is part of our plan to develop international air traffic, aiming to attract new airlines and increase direct destinations, which will support economic and tourism growth in the Eastern Province.” He added: “From January to September 2024, King Fahd International Airport achieved a remarkable 16.2% growth in passenger numbers compared to 2023, and I commend the tremendous efforts of our team and partners in making this accomplishment possible.” Mr. …

NEOM kicked off the China leg of its global ‘Discover NEOM’ tour with its showcase in Beijing and Shanghai, with over 500 senior business and industry leaders in attendance. The tour began in Beijing on April 15, followed by Shanghai on April 17. Organized in partnership with CCPIT Beijing and CCPIT Shanghai, the events included a series of presentations by NEOM’s leadership team, showcasing on-the-ground progress and milestones to date, as well as details of NEOM’s various economic sectors. The events highlighted opportunities for Chinese companies to engage and invest in NEOM, with a number of companies expressing significant interest and discussing tangible next steps with NEOM leadership. The agenda also included a construction-focused forum that explored the vast number of opportunities available for Chinese construction companies. Over 100 companies participated in the forum and heard about the current onsite construction progress across NEOM and its regions. A private showcase, entitled ‘Discover NEOM: A New Future by Design’, was a highlight of the events, providing guests with an immersive experience that explored THE LINE, the 170-kilometer-long city that will be the future of urban living; Oxagon, which is redefining the traditional industrial model; Trojena, the mountain resort of NEOM, and finally, Sindalah, a luxury island destination in the Red Sea that will be open to the public later this year. Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO, NEOM, said: “We are grateful to CCPIT Beijing and CCPIT Shanghai for supporting our visit to China and for the opportunity to present NEOM’s vision. To date, NEOM has already engaged with over 15 major Chinese businesses and invested in a number of Chinese startups to support the growth and diversification of NEOM. Collaboration with China will continue …

SAUDIA launched its first direct flight to Beijing, China, in collaboration with the Air Connectivity Program (ACP). This milestone falls in line with Saudi Aviation Strategy, which recognizes the importance of air connectivity in targeting key markets, such as China, and accommodating increasing demand from international tourists seeking to discover the treasures of Saudi Arabia. His Excellency Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of SAUDIA Group said: “We are proud to expand our operations and offer new destinations to our guests. China is a very important route for SAUDIA, and the introduction of the new direct flights to and from Beijing not only boosts tourism but also strengthens the overall economic and cultural ties between the two nations. It facilitates increased travel, trade, and people-to-people exchanges, fostering stronger bilateral relations. Tourism is a pillar of Saudi Vision 2030, and China is ranked among the top global sources of tourists. This new route will be another large step forward towards Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic diversification agenda and it can achieve much growth with more Chinese vacationers coming to the Kingdom.”

Etihad Airways began its first scheduled flight between Abu Dhabi and Beijing Daxing Airport, the inaugural flight EY888, operated using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, marked the move of regular flights from Abu Dhabi to Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). Previously Etihad operated to Beijing Capital International Airport. Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “With China’s reopening and the restart of the aviation and tourism industries, we are very glad to see the long overdue move of our scheduled services to Beijing Daxing International Airport, which will further strengthen our commitment to the country’s aviation market development and Chinese travellers.” “The integrated transportation facilities at Beijing Daxing International Airport will give Etihad Airways access to a huge catchment area around Beijing West Rail Station. We will be working closely with local partners to transfer Etihad’s rich experience in Europe working with intermodal rail service operators to Daxing to allow greater choice at a competitive fare on a single connecting ticket through air-rail modality.” 2023 also marks the 15th anniversary of Etihad Airways’ services in China and its Abu Dhabi-Beijing route. With the continuous consolidation and strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the UAE and China, political, economic, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries have become more frequent. Etihad Airways maintains its unwavering support for and commitment to its Chinese partners and the China market, and its contribution to the growing bilateral relationship. Mr. Wang Yaqi, General Manager of Aviation Business at Beijing Daxing International Airport, said: “Abu Dhabi Airports Company signed an MoU to build a sister-airport relationship with Beijing Daxing International Airport in 2019, which strengthened the capital-to-capital link. Etihad Airways is one of …

From 18 March 2023, Air Astana will resume flights from Astana to Beijing with a frequency of two per week on Wednesdays and Saturdays and a further increase set for summer. The flights will be operated on Airbus A321LRs. In addition, from 2 March 2023, the airline will increase the frequency of flights from Almaty to Beijing to four times a week with plans to increase this to daily flights during the summer season. These will be operated on Airbus A321LR and Airbus A321neo. Adel Dauletbek, Vice President for Marketing and Sales at Air Astana: “As we begin to navigate the summer season, the airline is gradually increasing its capacity in China to meet the growing demand of the country with the largest economy and population. Our passengers have the opportunity to travel on comfortable Airbus A321LR and A321neo aircraft. We are confident that these flights will be in demand by passengers who are heading to China for business, tourism and other purposes.” The airline resumed flights to Beijing from 22 November 2022 after suspending operations with China in March 2020 due to the pandemic. From 2002 to 2020, more than 1,100,000 passengers were transported across this route.

Emirates will ramp up its operations in China ahead of the New Lunar Year and in response to strong travel demand, boosting connectivity to its gateways; Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing as the country reopens its borders and eases its COVID-related entry restrictions. Shanghai – service resumption from 20 January 2023 with twice weekly service, gradually increasing to daily service from 1 March 2023. Emirates will resume passenger services to Shanghai starting with two weekly flights operated by an Airbus A380 aircraft from 20 January 2023, with EK302 departing from Dubai to Shanghai non-stop and EK303 making a short stop in Bangkok before returning to Dubai. This service will ramp up in frequency to four weekly flights operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 02 February 2023. During this period, Emirates’ flight EK302 will depart Dubai at 03:45hrs and arrive in Shanghai at 15:40hrs. The return flight EK303 will depart Shanghai at 17:40hrs and arrive in Bangkok at 21:45hrs before taking off from the Thai capital at 23:20hrs and arriving in Dubai at 03:20hrs the next day.* Emirates will further boost its Dubai-Shanghai route from 1 March 2023 with a daily non-stop service. Emirates’ flight EK304 will depart Dubai at 09:15hrs and arrive in Shanghai at 21:05hrs. The return flight EK303 will leave Shanghai at 23:00hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:20hrs the next day.* Guangzhou – daily nonstop from 1 February 2023. Emirates currently operates a non-stop flight from Dubai to Guangzhou as EK362, and a return flight from Guangzhou to Dubai via Bangkok as EK363, four times a week. Starting from 1 February 2023, the airline will increase services between Dubai and Guangzhou with EK362/EK363 operating as daily …

Etihad Airways will resume direct passenger flights between Abu Dhabi and Beijing from 29 June 2022, becoming the first regular direct international passenger flight to recommence for Beijing, under the latest mandate of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council. The airline will operate a weekly flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft in the world.   Inaugural flight schedule (all times local):   Flight  Departure  Time  Arrival  Time  Aircraft  Date  EY 888 (Inaugural flight) Abu Dhabi 18:00 Beijing 05:25+1 Boeing 787-9 Wednesday 29 June EY 889 (Inaugural flight) Beijing 02:10 Abu Dhabi 07:10 Boeing 787-9 Friday 1 July   Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Cargo at Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Etihad Airways is delighted about the resumption of passenger services between Abu Dhabi and Beijing, our second service to resume to China. China has always been an important strategic market for Etihad and the resumption of direct flights between the two capital cities will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the United Arab Emirates.” Etihad Airways scheduled service from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai resumed in July 2020 to meet the huge demand of passengers travelling between the UAE and China. Those wishing to book are advised to visit Etihad.com to view their options, and to remain informed on the relevant entry regulations at their end destination. Flights are also available for booking through the mobile app, by calling the Etihad Airways Contact Centre on +971 600 555 666 (UAE) or +86 400 8822 050 (Mainland China), or through a local or online travel agency. Important information: All passengers travelling on Etihad between Abu Dhabi and China must …

A tourism delegation led by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) visited three major cities in China to help boost awareness about the emirate as a holiday destination for Chinese travellers. The delegation, which included Etihad Airways, hotels, attractions and tour operators, visited Chengdu on September 16, followed by Shenzhen on September 18 and finally Beijing on September 20, for the annual roadshow. China has become one of the largest international source markets for Abu Dhabi hotel guests, with the emirate welcoming 401,316 Chinese hotel guests in 2018.  June 2019 figures reveal a 21.8 per cent increase, year-to-date, in visitors from China compared to 2018, with the first six months of 2019 having already seen 209,000 Chinese visit the emirate. The Department is targeting 600,000 Chinese hotel guests a year by 2021. Several tourist attractions and hotels across the emirate have already received the China Tourism Academy’s Welcome Chinese Certification, awarded to destinations offering high quality services to Chinese visitors, including Mandarin-speaking staff, while recent legislation now allows Chinese visitors to receive a visa-on-arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport making the process of staying in Abu Dhabi even easier. Many leading destinations and hotels across Abu Dhabi also now accept China Union Pay bank cards, making it easier for Chinese tourists to stay and travel. Saeed Rashed Al Saeed, Destination Marketing Department at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “This year, we educated local agents as to how the emirate caters to different styles of tourism; for example, both Free Independent Travel and Group Inclusive Tours are rapidly growing in popularity in China. We look forward to further promoting Abu Dhabi’s unique offerings and cultural experiences, …

As part of its efforts to achieve the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which aims to attract more than 10 million tourists to the emirate by the year 2021, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) announced that it will organise roadshows in three Chinese cities — Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai. The campaign, which is set to run from September 16-20, is aimed at stimulating the Chinese outbound travel market to Sharjah by encouraging them to take advantage of the UAE’s visa-on-arrival policy for Chinese tourists. The growing number of Chinese tourists to Sharjah who come to explore the emirate’s cultural and heritage identity has made it one of the most important markets for SCTDA. Therefore, the roadshow will add immense value to the Authority’s efforts to attract more Chinese travellers to the emirate, by creating awareness on its product offerings and other special packages. In line with this, the roadshows in Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai will see SCTDA highlight the emirate’s ambitious development projects in cooperation with the public and private sectors before Chinese audiences. H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, said, “The number of visitors from China during the second quarter of this year has reached to 13,289, which reflects the consistently increasing interest of Chinese tourists to visit Sharjah, and it is expected this figure will go even higher by the end of this year. In view of this growth, SCTDA’s upcoming roadshows in three Chinese cities will strengthen communication channels with travel, tourism and hospitality industry leaders, and will promote exchange of best practices, successful experiences, and insights on latest trends to effectively support the growth of the tourism industry.”

All set to be held in Beijing on August 28 and 29, 2019, IBTM China expects over 380 international and domestic exhibitors to meet more than 400 hosted buyers during business meetings at the event. Over 3,500 visitors are also expected to attend. The year 2019 will see the introduction of a new experience zone where visitors will be able to interact with select exhibitors in immersive themed environments on the show floor. Additionally, in response to customer demand for more opportunities to learn and be inspired by outside speakers, eight new speaker slots have been added to the programme which will cover four key themes, details of which will be announced early next year. Nicole Ci, Project Manager, IBTM China, commented, “We’re excited to announce the first details of IBTM China 2019. We have ambitious plans to grow the event this year, including extending the breadth of both international and domestic exhibitors taking stands and increasing hosted buyer numbers. The market in China continues to boom and there’s huge demand for on-site education sessions. As a result, we’ve almost doubled the number of speaker sessions this year to 18. We’ll be following four topical themes to ensure the sessions are targeted to the latest hot topics, from key industry trends to event marketing and innovation. We’re looking forward to announcing more information about the event early in 2019.”