Research conducted by Oxford Economics predicts that outbound travel from China will nearly double this year, compared to 2023, and will only be 22% below its pre-pandemic peak of 155 million tourists in 2019.

These tourists spent over $250 billion overseas. Full recovery of Chinese tourism is expected to happen in 2025, with the MENA being the first region globally to recover its Chinese inbound market.

Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024, which will be held from 6-9 May at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), is expected to welcome twice the number of Chinese exhibitors and travel professionals compared to its 2019 show, underscoring the prediction of the MENA becoming the first region to recover its Chinese inbound market.

China lifted its COVID-related travel restrictions on January 8, 2023, allowing Chinese tourists to travel abroad without having to quarantine upon their return.

Bookings for overseas travel during the Chinese New Year reportedly soared by 540% compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Chinese travel site Trip.

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.”

Curtis added, “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 was 7% higher than those recorded in 2019.

The most popular MENA destinations include Dubai, Saudi’s AlUla, Egypt, and Jordan – Dubai alone welcomed more than one million Chinese visitors in 2019.”

Chinese participation at ATM 2024 is expected to more than double compared to ATM 2019, with new exhibitors that include private sector companies such as Heytrip International, Jiangsu Intelligence Equipment Co, Flightroutes24 Travel Company Ltd, Feeyo Technology, and anticipated destination representation from Macao Government Tourism Office, China Cultural Centre in the UAE, and the Hongkong Tourism Board.

ATM is also organising a dedicated conference session on this key market in its Global Stage, entitled ‘Capitalising on China’s Predicted Tourism Surge’, in association with Huawei.

This session, which takes place on Monday 6th May from 15:10 to 15:50, will explore the changing trends, cultural preferences, and the role of mobile marketing and tourism predictions in the Chinese tourism market.

In line with this year’s show theme ‘Empowering Innovation: Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship’, other highlights at the 31st edition of ATM include entrepreneurship-focused sessions as well as dedicated sessions for other key source markets such as India and the Americas.

As well as showcasing a range of event features based around the theme, informative content will be delivered across the Global Stage and the new Future Stage at ATM 2024, led by respected industry keynote speakers and thought leaders.

Held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM 2024’s strategic partners include the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Destination Partner; Emirates, Official Airline Partner; IHG Hotels & Resorts, Official Hotel Partner, and Al Rais Travel, Official DMC Partner.

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According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Wadi Rum received a total of 18,359 visitors in the first two months of the year, with the majority being non-Arabs.

In January, 6,814 visitors were recorded, which increased to 11,545 in February.

Out of the total number of visitors, 14,200 were non-Arab tourists, 187 were Arab visitors, and 3,972 were Jordanian visitors.

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) reported an 8.9% increase in tourism revenues in February 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to JD389.7 million.

In January and February, tourism revenues grew by 4.5%, totaling JD782.6 million. The CBJ also stated that tourism revenues surpassed projections for the first three quarters of 2023, showing a 27.4% increase and setting a “historical” precedent at JD5.2 billion.

Bookings were canceled in the last quarter of the previous year by at least 65%, largely due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, had previously made statements regarding this matter.

The government is committed to establishing the Kingdom as a leading tourism and film production hub.

To achieve this, they implemented 260 promotional campaigns in 53 countries last year, resulting in 9.2 million passengers passing through Queen Alia International Airport, marking a 17% increase.

A total of 6.3 million visitors went to the Aqaba and Petra regions, and one million electronic visas were issued.

Additionally, 292 buses were added to the tourist transport fleet.

The Ministry of Tourism also promoted low-cost carriers through partnerships with five new charter and scheduled airlines, leading to an increase of 141% in passengers, carrying a total of 446,000 passengers.

The government inaugurated the development of archaeological sites and the launch of new tourism experiences such as the Ajloun Cable Car, which attracted 268,000 visitors, and the Um Qais Water Tunnel.

Other attractions include diving in Aqaba, the Petra Hot Air Balloon, the Christian Pilgrimage Trail in Mukawer, the restoration of six major tourist and archaeological spots, and the inauguration of film studios.

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