Dubai Times All About Dubai
Seventy top Chinese travel buyers experience the best in Arabian hospitality at glittering Welcome Reception for MeetChina Seventy top Chinese travel buyers in town to discover the emirates first-hand enjoyed a glittering Welcome Reception at Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi as part of MeetChina.
Guests dined on a selection of authentic Chinese dishes and local flavours prepared by the property’s expert chefs while traditional entertainment was provided thanks to Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), which is supporting the conference. The Chinese visitors enjoyed a falcon display, henna artist and traditional Ayala folk dancing. In addition, they had the chance to discover a handpicked selection of luxurious writing instruments thanks to event sponsor Montblanc.
Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions & Overseas Offices, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority delivered an opening address that highlighted the increasing importance of Chinese visitors to the emirate.
“In the first half of this year, some 102,217 Chinese checked into our hotels and resorts – a 72 percent increase,” he said.
“Chinese guests delivered 148,842 guest nights – up 41 percent year-on-year. Of course, we want more Chinese guests to experience our emirate and, when they come, we’d like them to stay longer. We most certainly have enough to entertain them, from this November’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to Abu Dhabi Classics and the World Cup of Sailing, we are sure you will find something in our emirate to enthrall and delight.”
VIPs in attendance included Hua Chang, the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the people’s republic of China to the UAE.
The Welcome Reception marked the start of MeetChina – a leading homegrown conference organsied by npimedia in collaboration with Highway Tourism – which has brought a 70-strong group of Chinese travel buyers to meet with leading supplier, including top hoteliers.
“The beauty of MeetChina is that we have done all the hard work for our clients by bringing 70 carefully selected travel buyers to the UAE and they are all available at one venue, accompanied by professional translators,” said Rob Nicholas, MD of npimedia, which launched the event.
“Meetings in China can be very difficult to coordinate. Reaching the right people, setting appointments, hoping the decision-maker will be there and then managing the logistics of navigating even a single city can be a serious challenge.”
He continued: “By bringing buyers here to the UAE we are saving time, money and inconvenience for all participating suppliers. Plus, they don’t need to sell the destination to any of their potential clients, as we have already done that – firstly by getting them on the plane and then by wowing them throughout their stay. It is simply a matter of getting straight down to business.”
