Abu Dhabi targets Chinese tourists...

China tourist spend to more than double in Middle East by 2030

Abu Dhabi is doubling down on the Chinese travel market with 17 new partnerships aimed at tapping this fast-growing and high-spending segment.

The Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi signed the deals with travel partners at ITB China 2025 in Shanghai.

The move comes after the emirate saw visitor numbers soar to 1.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, with China one of the top source markets, and leisure spend by Chinese visitors in the Middle East predicted to double by 2030.

Outbound tourism from China is recovering strongly from the pandemic. The UAE started granting visas on arrival to Chinese visitors in 2016, with more than 764,000 taking advantage in 2017.

In the first four months of 2024, almost 290,000 overnight visitors arrived from China, a 101% increase compared to the same period the previous year.

Abu Dhabi has been quick to recognise the potential of the recovering Chinese market, with tourism spend in the Middle East predicted to be 50% higher in 2030 than 2024, reaching US$350 billion, and leisure spend by Chinese visitors predicted to more than double by 2030, according to the ATM Travel Trends Report 2025.

The number of Chinese visitors could be further boosted by a recent agreement between Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and China Eastern Airlines aimed at developing and growing routes between the destinations, the first commercial joint venture of its kind between a Middle Eastern airline and a Chinese airline.

China Eastern operated its inaugural flight from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi on 28 April 2025, and the service is now operating four weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday) before going daily from 12 September.

According to DCT Abu Dhabi, Chinese visitor spending focuses on visiting local attractions, dining and shopping. Top attractions include Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Corniche, Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Warner Bros Theme Park.

Abu Dhabi enjoyed a strong first quarter of 2025, with hotels seeing revenue jump 18% compared to the same period last year, with RevPAR rising 25%. Occupancy was steady at 79%.

Abu Dhabi aims to attract 39.3 million visitors annually by 2030 and expand hotel capacity to 50,000 rooms, up from the current 35,000.

For more information, visit dct.gov.ae/en

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