The world’s largest gathering of Chinese travel industry professionals ever staged outside of China took place recently in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during the China Visitors Summit (CVS).
Nearly 160 leading Chinese travel industry buyers – including travel agencies and tour operators, luxury agencies and wholesalers, MICE managers, and corporate travel planners – traveled to the UAE to meet face-to-face with the country’s tourism suppliers, such as hotels, destinations, attractions, museums, inbound tour operators, shopping malls, and more.
Over the course of two intensive days of one-to-one meetings at the Rotana Hotel and Conference Center in Al Ain, more than 3,000 business appointments were conducted between Chinese buyers and UAE suppliers. Collectively, these buyers generated nearly $1 billion in global outbound travel business last year, representing more than 1.5 million international travelers, many of whom are focused on the GCC region and especially the UAE.
China has now become the world’s largest source of international tourism, with 200 million passport holders and approximately the same number of global trips in the past year. Chinese travelers spent upwards of $300 billion annually worldwide, making China an essential source market for any global tourism destination.
At the CVS, UAE travel companies are able to choose the Chinese buyers they want to meet, customizing their schedules to focus on specific segments – from luxury FIT leisure travel to business and MICE.
“The China Visitors Summit is not just about meetings – it’s about building long-term partnerships between the UAE and China’s most powerful travel industry leaders,” said Alexander Glos, CEO of the China i2i Group, organizer of the event. “Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE are now firmly positioned as must-visit destinations for Chinese travelers, and the CVS provides the direct access, insights, and opportunities that suppliers need to succeed in this market.”
