The historical Diriyah is located in the North West of Riyadh and the birthplace of the first Saudi state. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Saudi Arabia aims to welcome four million Chinese travelers by 2030 as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification path, with a new campaign set to push the Gulf nation as a summer getaway.
In a press release to launch the “Rethink Summer” campaign in China on Aug 8, the Saudi Tourism Authority, or STA, said that Chinese holidaymakers visiting Saudi would have a chance to see the country “in a different light”. The campaign was launched in May this year.
“Curated experiences and packages relevant for Chinese travelers are available this summer in all major Saudi destinations showcasing the richness and variety of cultural, heritage, adventure, nature and culinary offerings all catering to Chinese travelers’ needs and interests,” the press release said.
Experiences include glamping in a Bedouin camp in AlUla and budget holidays in Jeddah. Travelers can also take advantage of special hotel offers from local destination management companies, or DMCs, the STA said. There are “Welcome, China” promotions that cover discounts based on length of stay, both for solo travelers and couples, as well as families.
Curated experiences and packages relevant for Chinese travelers are available this summer in all major Saudi destinations showcasing the richness and variety of cultural, heritage, adventure, nature and culinary offerings all catering to Chinese travelers’ needs and interests.
Saudi Tourism Authority
President of APAC Markets at the Saudi Tourism Authority Alhasan Aldabbagh told China Daily they are on track to meet their targets “as per our China readiness plans”.
The STA has credited China and Saudi Arabia’s robust bilateral agreements for helping facilitate travel between the two countries.
At the STA’s media roadshow in China earlier this year, Saudi Arabian flag carrier SAUDIA announced the launch of direct Jeddah-Beijing and Riyadh-Beijing flights.
The new routes, it said, “are aligned with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to increase tourism to 100 million annual visits by the end of the decade”, as well as “reinforcing Saudi’s commitment to the crucial China market”.
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Things are also being made easier for Chinese travelers on the ground.
China was already included as one of the 49 countries in Saudi’s three-minute e-visa program but the recently launched 96-hour Stopover Visa program entitles guests flying to an onward destination with SAUDIA to a free one-night hotel stay in the country.
“As a result, Chinese holidaymakers can travel to Saudi with peace of mind: from researching their trip in Chinese on VisitSaudi.cn and navigating the Riyadh airport with ease thanks to Mandarin signage, to the convenience of Union Pay, world-class Chinese restaurants and a dedicated Chinese customer care hotline,” the STA press release said.
The post-COVID tourism landscape is shaping up to be a competitive arena with a growing number of Arab countries wooing Chinese travelers at the same time.
In AlUla, visitors can find a living museum of preserved tombs, sandstone outcrops, historic dwellings and monuments, both natural and human-made, that hold 200,000 years of largely unexplored human history. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
To win visitors away from already established markets like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt in North Africa, both popular destinations with Chinese travelers, Riyadh must continue creating unique experiences, said one travel expert.
Ken Shen, business development manager at Shenzhen Hang Lu Travel Technology Company Limited, which operates Flightroutes24, told China Daily that when Chinese people want to travel to the Middle East, they will first choose Dubai, so Saudi needs “something special” to win the traffic.
“I think they need to have a bigger promotion first. Then make efforts to advertise because I see so many countries doing the same (thing) to attract Chinese people. The question is why would they choose Saudi Arabia but not somewhere else if there is the same promotion?”
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Since March 2023, Shen said, they have seen an average of around 300 Chinese visitors per month traveling to Saudi Arabia. He estimates that the numbers may increase to 3,000 per month in the next few months amid enhanced efforts from both countries.
