Belt and Road Initiative spurs soaring tourist numbers in desert city
Philip
Xue is a frequent flyer to Dubai from Beijing. In his eyes, Dubai is a city
that surprises him every time.
“Dubai
gives me a different impression every time, even if it has not been long,” the
twenty something white-collar worker told the
Global Times on May 29.
“I can
often see new construction completed and new construction starting. Dubai is
becoming more and more tolerant as you can work and communicate with people
from all over the world,” he said.
Dubai,
one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has seen
soaring numbers of tourists from China in recent years after the UAE announced
it would grant visa-free entry for Chinese citizens.
According
to local tourism bureau data, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Dubai
in 2018 reached 875,000, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent.
China is
the fourth-largest source of visitors, following India, with more than 2
million visitors, Saudi Arabia and Britain.
In order
to better attract Chinese tourists, Dubai has established strategic
partnerships with brands such as Huawei, Tencent, Fliggy, Alipay and Ctrip to
launch digital services to enhance the tourist experience of Chinese tourists
in the city.
With the
support of the government, Alipay can be found everywhere in Dubai, including
malls, cafes, restaurants and major attractions.
Visitors
can scan a QR code to automatically convert to payment in renminbi, China’s
currency, according to the day’s exchange rate.
In July
2018, China and the UAE pledged to boost bilateral cooperation under the
framework of the Belt and Road Initiative
as they agreed to lift bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic
partnership.
China
maintained its position as Dubai’s biggest trade partner in the first half of
2018 with a total trade volume of 69 billion dirham ($18.8 billion), Xinhua
News Agency said, citing local media.
Steen
Jakobsen, assistant vice president of Dubai Business Events (DBE), said that
Dubai was the fourth most-visited city in 2018, with 15.9 million international
overnight visitors and almost 117,000 hotel rooms booked.
According
to its tourism strategy, the city hopes to attract 25 million visitors per year
by 2025 and to become the top destination for global travel, business and
events.
DBE, the
city’s official convention bureau, secured a total of 261 successful bids for
meetings, conferences and incentives in 2018, which are set to attract an
additional 153,640 delegates to Dubai over the coming years, according to a
note sent to the Global Times.
The
bureaus said the number of event bids won represents a 24-percent increase from
2017 and will deliver an estimated economic impact of approximately 1.2 billion
dirhams to the city.
This
success also marks a 62-percent increase from the previous year in the number
of delegates set to visit Dubai based on event bids won, signifying a shift
toward larger-scale events and further cementing the emirate as an attractive
global business destination.
Reuters
reported on May 27 that Dubai could attract 11 million foreign visitors to the
Expo 2020 world fair, with overseas visitors accounting for almost 71 percent
of the total expected at the event.
Expo
2020, which starts in October 2020 and runs for six months, is expected to add
122.6 billion dirhams to the UAE’s economy between 2013 and 2031, Reuters said,
quoting a study conducted by consultancy EY.
However,
the sun-soaked city in the Gulf is trying to present a new look to the world,
from a global tourism and events destination to a smart city.
Lorne
Riley, director of corporate communications with Dubai Airports, said
technology and environment are key considerations in the airport construction,
and technology will be at the core of these changes, such as smart gates to
reduce transaction times from minutes to seconds on average across the airport.
Smart
Dubai, a technology-supported transformation project, has a vision to make
Dubai the “happiest city on Earth” as the city has been leading technological
innovation in government for over a decade. The department is working to
transfer 100 percent of the government’s applicable internal transactions and
public services to digital platforms by December 12, 2021, according to a note
sent to the Global Times.
The
department said its goal is to leverage emerging technologies such as block chain,
artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and open data sharing to continue
to increase the efficiency of government services to create a better experience
in the city and expand this framework to the private sector so that all
residents, business owners, city leaders and even tourists can benefit.
Source:Global Times
On March 19, 2019, the Beilun
District of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, joined hands with the United Arab
Emirates “Hug China” executive committee to hold the “Hug China: Dubai in the
Eyes of Chinese People” photography exhibition at the Beilun China Port Museum.
The exhibition is free to the public. (Photo by Chen Zhangkun and Jia Qifan from
People’s Daily Online)
Belt and Road Initiative spurs soaring tourist numbers in desert city
Reviewed by PEOPLES MAIL
on
02:47
Rating:
No comments: