The Middle East saw a sharp increase in Chinese travellers during Golden Week.
Golden Week is one of China’s most significant travel periods, combining National Day on 1 October with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
During this year’s extended travel week, which ran from 1 October to 8 October. Chinese travel reservations to Doha surged by 441% year-over-year, and bookings to Abu Dhabi grew 229% according to Trip.com.
At the same time, Dubai became one of the top 10 destinations outside Asia with a 27% increase, according to the travel data analytics firm ForwardKeys.
The Emirates, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, also became a top choice for affluent Chinese travellers on premium economy, business, and first class seats, with demand soaring by 133% from last year.
This follows an ongoing trend of Chinese travellers visiting the Middle East, with flights from China to the region growing 25% so far this year from the same period in 2024, Trip.com Singapore general manager Edmund Ong told CNBC.
This also marks a stark difference from the same period in 2019, with current levels rising by 180% from pre-pandemic levels.
The five fastest-growing overseas destinations for hotel bookings during the Golden Week were Saudi Arabia, Egypt, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, and the UAE, according to a Google translation of data from Tongcheng Travel, the second-largest online travel booking platform in China.
Ong said the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman were the most popular Middle East destinations.
Closer visa-free Asian countries like Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore still dominate outbound travel for Chinese travellers.
