Tag Archives: inbound Middle East

According to research by Oxford Economics, outbound travel from China is estimated to almost double this year, compared with 2023 and will only be 22% below its peak pre-pandemic numbers of 155 million tourists in 2019, who spent over $250 billion overseas. Full recovery is expected to materialise in 2025, with the Middle East being the first region globally to recover its Chinese inbound market. Underscoring that prediction, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024 which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 6-9 May, is set to welcome twice the number of Chinese exhibitors and travel professionals, compared with its 2019 show. China lifted its covid-related travel restrictions on 8th January 2023, allowing Chinese tourists to travel abroad, without having to quarantine upon their return. Bookings for overseas travel during Chinese New Year, soared by 540% compared with the same period in 2022, according to data from the Chinese travel site Trip.com. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market commented, “Last year, some analysts were predicting that the Chinese outbound market would recover to around six million per month by the summer of 2023, driven in part by the pent-up demand especially from young, affluent Chinese. “However, that rebound wasn’t as great as many tourism professionals had hoped for and now analysts are confident that this year, we could see Chinese visitor numbers double year-on-year, with major destinations in the Middle East recovering quicker than any other internationally, especially for luxury travel. “That sentiment has also been borne out by the latest spending data for the 2024 Chinese New Year. According to Chinese payment platform Alipay, the number of Chinese overseas transactions were 7% higher than those recorded in 2019. …

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