Dubai lures record number of Chinese tourists in Q1

The official Dubai tourism body said Monday it recorded 4.1 million overnight visitors in the first three months of this year, an increase of 5.1 percent year on year.

Dubai tourism said at the annual tourism fair Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which kicked off Monday that among the top source markets in the first quarter were the United States and and China.

In 2015, Chinese tourists represented the national group with the highest increase in visitor numbers when 450,000 Chinese travelers flocked to visit Dubai to enjoy its beaches and shopping malls, a 29 percent increase year on year.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Tourism, said at the 23rd edition of the ATM that global travel in the first three months of this year has been impacted by geo-political, social and economic uncertainties, with most markets experiencing flat to negative growth.

Aware of the Chinese-Arab trave and tourism trend, Dubai's state-owned carrier Emirates Airline will launch on May 3 its 4th and 5th destination to China.

Emirates, the fastest growing carrier in the world already flies directly from Dubai to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The trend of more Chinese visitors who spend their vacation in the Gulf region is not only seen in Dubai but across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This year's travel fair ATM, the biggest of its kind in the Middle East, will run through Thursday, April 28, and expects 26,000 visitors. Endit