In April 2026, the China Cultural Center in the UAE held working consultation meetings respectively with Etihad Airways, Al Rais Travel Group of the UAE, and Kanoo Group of the UAE to jointly plan the 2026 inbound tourism promotion to China.
The Center expressed its appreciation to its Arab partners for conducting joint promotions in the Gulf Arab countries, including the UAE, for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025. These efforts included organizing influencer trips to China, jointly hosting the China–Gulf Tourism Exchange, conducting joint online platform promotions, and inviting travel agencies to visit China for familiarization tours and to participate in the China International Travel Mart. In 2025, the number of inbound visitors to China from the six Gulf countries exceeded 150,000, representing an increase of 100.78% compared with 2024. Among them, the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE increased by 110% and 113% respectively, and the promotion of inbound tourism from Gulf countries to China has achieved phased results.
Rajiv, Senior Sales Manager of Etihad Airways, stated that the China Cultural Center has been the closest government tourism promotion partner of the airline in recent years, with remarkable results. Etihad Airways is willing to further deepen practical cooperation with the Center, jointly organize more innovative and content-rich promotion and familiarization activities, and encourage more travelers from the Gulf region and the UAE to visit China.
Mahmoud, Senior Commercial General Manager of the Kanoo Group of the UAE, stated that under the promotion of the China Cultural Center, the Kanoo Group has not only made progress in inbound tourism business to China, but is also more willing to explore cooperation with Chinese suppliers in sectors such as shipping, machinery, and energy. People-to-people exchanges have become a catalyst for deepening cooperation between Kanoo and China across various fields, and they hope to continue supporting the Center’s cultural and tourism activities in the UAE in the future.
Al Rais Travel Group of the UAE is the largest outbound tour operator in Dubai serving UAE customers. Mohammed Al Rais, the group’s major shareholder and Executive Director, stated that the number of UAE visitors to China doubled in 2025, which is an outstanding achievement jointly created by tourism practitioners from China and Arab countries. More than 80% of the increase consists of tourists traveling for leisure purposes. Al Rais Travel Group is willing to continue its cooperation with the China Cultural Center, making use of the opportunity of the successful visit of UAE Crown Prince Khaled to China to promote more UAE tourists to travel to various destinations across China. It also hopes that the Chinese side will continue to carry out broader, deeper, and more sustained tourism promotion and marketing activities targeting the Gulf Arab countries, so as to further enhance the visibility of “Nihao!China”.
According to the 2026 work plan, the China Cultural Center in the UAE will integrate both online and offline resources across all channels, and cooperate with airlines and tour operators in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other countries, as well as tourism enterprises in Chinese destinations, to continue promoting inbound tourism to China in the Gulf Arab countries. The promotion will focus on areas such as premium shopping, leisure vacations, high-end wellness, ice and snow experiences, low-altitude consumption, and cruise and yacht tourism. Through high-quality inbound tourism routes and international networks, it aims to tell China’s story well to the Gulf Arab countries and enhance the international influence of tourism.
