Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry is heading to China next week for a five-city roadshow to help capitalise on the rapid growth of inbound tourism from the country into the emirate.

An eight-strong delegation, led by Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and comprising hotels, travel agents, attractions and the country’s national airline Etihad Airways, will visit Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong over five days from May 18, said a statement.

China has now become the largest overseas market for Abu Dhabi for the first time, as the first quarter of this year saw more than 64,000 Chinese guest arrivals into Abu Dhabi - an increase of 99 per cent during the corresponding period the previous year – and an 82 per cent increase in guest nights at the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments, to more than 91,000, it said.

Mubarak Al Nuaimi, director - Promotions and Overseas Offices, TCA Abu Dhabi, said: “It is important for us to continue to build momentum in the China market and increase awareness about our portfolio of products across the emirate.

“China has now become our largest overseas source market for the very first time, overtaking the UK, India and Germany.”

“However, despite this emphatic growth we need to encourage our Chinese visitors to experience more of our constantly expanding range of tourism offerings and spend longer in the emirate. To encourage a greater understanding of what we can offer, we recently welcomed 23 hotels, attractions and experiences into the Welcome Chinese programme in partnership with China Tourism Academy,” said Al Nuaimi.

“We will also be hosting later this year the Meet China Summit – a key B2B networking forum and conference for travel industry professionals looking to capture more business from China,” he said.

Joining TCA Abu Dhabi will be Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas, Abu Dhabi; Nirvana Travel and Tourism, Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, Novotel and Ibis Gate Hotels, City Seasons Hotels, Farah Leisure Parks Management and Etihad Airways.

While there are already daily flights to Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways from Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai, a new daily service from Hong Kong launching on June 15 is expected to further boost inbound travel.

During the roadshow, the airline is aiming to increase its company profile while raising awareness of its business and economy class products, and the profile of Hala Abu Dhabi – the destination management division of Etihad Airways.

Nirvana Travel and Tourism, an Abu Dhabi-based travel company that specialises in cultural, adventure and tailor-made programmes to various destinations all over the world, will be joining the delegation on the whistle-stop tour.

Ahmed Abdelmawgoud, sales manager for the company, which was set up in 2007, said: “This year, our main focus is to increase our business from the Chinese market to reach Dh50 million ($13.6 million).

“During the roadshow, we will be meeting new companies and building fruitful relationships with them, as well as signing contracts. The Chinese market is now one of the biggest tourist markets worldwide and key to our continual growth and business plans.”

City Season Hotels currently owns and operates six properties in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Muscat, Oman with the seventh property to open in Dubai this summer.

Elise Talj, director of Marketing and Brand Development, said: “Ideally located in the heart of the cities, our hotels have always been preferred hotels for Chinese visitors travelling for both leisure and business. We have welcomed in excess of 7,000 Chinese travellers in 2014 and are expecting 12,000 Chinese Travellers by the end of this year.

“We are looking forward to meeting our partners and exploring further business possibilities and opportunities for our group. We are also looking at exposing our product to further markets in China.”

“China has become the number one outbound market worldwide and we are looking to establish our hotels to cover both high and low seasons. To facilitate this we are also introducing Chinese speaking guest relation officers in our hotels. Our Royal Rose Hotel Abu Dhabi is already a certified gold member Welcome Chinese hotel and has the UnionPay scheme enabled,” she added. - TradeArabia News Service