China’s move to downgrade the management of Covid-19 from Class A to Class B starting from Sunday has excited governmental officials and tourism industry players in the Middle East, who are gearing up to welcome back Chinese tourists absent for three years due to the pandemic.

China has continuously optimized its Covid-19 responses, the latest of which will be lifting restrictions on citizens’ outbound trips as of Sunday. The move is warmly welcomed by tourism practitioners in the Middle East. “We are so happy to hear the good news,” Amir Ben Aribia, general manager of the Tunisian travel company Tunisia Blue Sky, told Xinhua. With Chinese tourists accounting for 90 percent of the company’s business before the pandemic outbreak, Ben Aribia has been closely following the adjustment of China’s Covid-related policies. Karim Mohammed, a souvenir shop owner in the famous Khan El Khalili bazaar in Egypt’s capital of Cairo, said that he expected Chinese tourists to return to Egypt soon. As the Belt and Road cooperation runs through the Middle East region where more countries offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to Chinese citizens, the number of Chinese arrivals has surged in the pre-pandemic years. In 2016, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) started to grant visas to Chinese visitors upon arrival. In 2017, over 764,000 Chinese tourists visited the UAE, representing a 41-percent increase year on year.

Visa rules

According to the 2020 report of Dubai Tourism, the easing of the UAE visa rules in 2016 led to the doubling of the number of Chinese visitors to the Gulf country in four years. When Saudi Arabia announced the issuance of tourist visas to visitors from 49 countries in 2019, China topped the number of tourist visas issued by the kingdom. Chinese tourists used to come in groups, which helped boost his business significantly, Mohammed said. Halis Aydogan, an official of the Turkish company Pasha Balloon Tours, told Xinhua that in Cappadocia, famous for its hot air balloon tours, Chinese tourists accounted for nearly half of some 600,000 balloon trip takers in 2019.

Huge potential

Despite the rapid growth, China remains a tourism market with huge potential for the Middle East. Experts believe the return of Chinese tourists would have a positive impact on a wide range of sectors in the region. “Not only does a hotel stay benefit the hospitality industry, but visitor spending in retail and leisure activities boosts demand for employment and stimulates the wider economy,” Ross Curran, an assistant professor at Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, told The National, an English daily newspaper with headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the return of Chinese tourists would strengthen cultural exchanges between China and the Mideast countries in the long run.

Chinese tourists show more interest in the historical sites and natural landscapes, Ben Aribia said, adding that the Chinese travel style brings the industry a stable and handsome income.