Beijing is experiencing a taste of Saudi Arabia. A market is being held from October 18 to 26 in the city as the Middle Eastern country aims to attract more Chinese tourists.
The number of Chinese travelers visiting Saudi Arabia doubled from 2023 to 2024, said Alhasan Aldabbagh, president of APAC Markets of the Saudi Tourism Authority.
"We are looking forward to growing this number exponentially," he told CGTN. "We are bringing all the key applications like Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay."
Alhasan Aldabbagh, president of APAC Markets of the Saudi Tourism Authority. /CGTN
Aldabbagh said Saudi Arabia is bringing a lot of tour guides who speak Mandarin, as well as training Chinese tour guides in the country.
As part of its Vision 2030 strategy, Saudi Arabia aims to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030. Aldabbagh said Chinese tourists are core to helping Saudi Arabia achieve its Vision 2030.
"We are investing a lot in the Chinese market. We are promoting Saudi across all the digital platforms in China, and we are working with our trade partners, tour operators and travel agents," he said.
An agreement between China and Saudi Arabia was signed last September, making the Middle Eastern country a group tour destination for Chinese tourists.
Aldabbagh sees this agreement as a big milestone. "We feel honored with to be granted and approved destination status which allows us to promote group travel."
"Group travel is very sizable from the China outbound market," he said, adding that the country has launched 20 group tour packages to Saudi Arabia.
Videography: Qi Jianqiang
Video editor: Guo Meiping
Cover image: Huang Ruiqi