Tourism from China grew by 63 percent in 2016, compared to 2015 figures, to become the sixth largest source of tourists to the emirate, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, SCTDA. 

As tourist numbers from China continue to grow, SCTDA recently organised an event that focusses on continuing to increase visits from China. 

SCTDA is hosting 15 of the major outbound Chinese travel companies from the east coast of China on a familiarisation visit to Sharjah over the next week. The travel operators will be fully immersed in the emirate and exposed to all its facets, from shopping, to heritage and destination activities, during their stay. As part of the programme, they will attend a workshop with key local industry stakeholders, with the objective of signing contracts for increased business over the coming years. 

Regarding tourism from China, Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, said, "The year 2016 brought many achievements and successes to Sharjah. The emirate is reaping the benefits of forward-thinking initiatives and bold projects and campaigns that we have been working on all year. This year, in the first two months, we have already exceeded all expectations. The roadshows covering major cities in China and India are already showing net gains, and we have just returned from successful events in Germany and Russia. These countries firmly retained their spots among the top ten source markets for Sharjah, with China and Russia registering double-digit growth rates in 2016, which we are anxious to develop further throughout 2017." 

The new visa on arrival for Chinese visitors has really offered wider opportunities for further potential growth. Additional familiarisation visits have been planned to align with sales visits and overseas exhibitions, covering key cities in China. Work will also begin with Malaysian markets this year.

We accept Guest Posts

Download the Dubai City Guide iPhone mobile app

DubaiCityGuide.com is owned and managed by Cyber Gear