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28 March 2024

6,000 Chinese insurance, financial 'dragons' to visit Dubai next week

Published
By Staff

Dubai Tourism has reported a 25 per cent increase in Chinese guests in the first half of 2015 as the emirate’s popularity with business and leisure visitors continues to grow.

“China is a very important inbound market for Dubai, and the emirate is making big efforts to attract more Chinese visitors,” said Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism.

The emirate is now set to welcome 6,000 members of the worldwide Chinese insurance and financial industry for a well-known awards ceremony to be held August 22-25 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The 2015 International Dragon Award (IDA) annual meeting, which recognises the industry’s best and brightest performers, comes at a time when the emirate’s inbound visitor numbers from China are hitting new highs.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday to announce the group’s arrival, Kazim revealed that overnight visitor numbers from China in the first six months of 2015 had reached 241,000 guests, 25 per cent more than the same period last year.

“Dubai’s hosting of this important and highly anticipated Chinese industry event is testament to the efforts being made by tourism stakeholders to position the emirate as a premier destination for business and leisure travel,” said Kazim.

IDA 2015 will see delegates from 17 countries gather for meetings, networking events, award ceremonies and sightseeing tours across Dubai, and comes as a result of concerted efforts by Dubai Tourism and Dubai Business Events (DBE), a division of Dubai Tourism which serves as the city’s official convention bureau, to strengthen ties with key markets such as China, and to ensure that Dubai’s constantly evolving destination offer is well communicated to attract both new travellers as well as repeat visitors.

“We are honoured that Dubai was selected as the first city outside of the Asia Pacific to host the International Dragon Award 2015 event, and we are very much looking forward to showcasing this remarkable city to the thousands of delegates who will be attending. Dubai is particularly well suited for Chinese visitors thanks to its high standards of hospitality and vast array of leisure attractions which include some of the best hotels and shopping malls in the world, and we look forward to welcoming the delegation,” Kazim added.

The IDA Annual Meeting 2015 will not only bring thousands of delegates to Dubai, but also help to extend Dubai’s image and reputation amongst influential Chinese business circles as one of the world’s most recommended convention and tourism destinations.

Dubai won the bid to host the event in August 2014 after an extensive two-year investigation process organised by the Worldwide Chinese Life Insurance Congress, the organisers of the event, and the emirate is keen to continue welcoming large delegations from China. IDA 2015 is the largest conference group to visit Dubai so far this year.

Commenting on Dubai’s selection to host the event, Richard Wu, Chairman of the IDA 2015 Annual Meeting, said: “We chose Dubai not only because it is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in the world, but also because it has a state-of-the-art business and convention centre which is equipped with all the latest facilities. We have a lot of confidence in Dubai and know that its first class accessibility in terms of airlift, its many well-designed hotels and its high quality service standards will make the 2015 IDA Annual Meeting a very successful business event.”