UAE's Etihad Airways has commenced its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner services to Beijing, with the inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi touching down in the Chinese capital on July 1, said a report.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to commemorate the event and was attended by senior executives from Etihad Airways, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the UAE, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, WAM reported.

Peter Baumgartner, chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said: "Since launching flights between our two capitals of Abu Dhabi and Beijing nine years ago, we have experienced the huge growth of China’s outbound tourism market and enjoyed strong demand from business and leisure travellers."

"The decision to upgrade our operations to the Dreamliner reflects the importance of Beijing and the Chinese market to the airline, and the sustained development of economic relations between the two countries. Beijing is the nation’s economic, political, cultural and international exchange centre, which underlines its importance within Etihad Airways’ global network."

Saif Saeed Ghobash, director-general of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, said: "China has grown to become the largest overseas source market for Abu Dhabi hotel guest arrivals, and through our pro-active in-territory promotional efforts supported by further expansion in capacity, we are looking forward to welcoming 600,000 Chinese visitors to the emirate by 2021."