Zahra Habib
The head of the Travel and Tourism Agency Association, Jihad Al -Amin, said that the initiative presented by the Minister of Tourism Fatima Al -Serafi, on the sidelines of the recent Arab travel market in Dubai, to target the Chinese market by providing joint trips that include Bahrain and Egypt, is considered one of the most important ideas presented to enhance tourism cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He stressed that the number of Chinese travelers for tourism purposes in 2024 amounted to about 130 million passengers, according to estimates of the Chinese Tourism Academy (CTA), noting that these numbers represent a great recovery compared to 2023, which recorded about 87 million foreign tourism trips, but it is still less than before the pre -pandemic levels in 2019, which amounted to 155 million trips.
Al -Amin pointed out that the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers were mainly concentrated in the Asia Pacific region, with a noticeable increase in traveling to Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.
He pointed out that there is an increasing Chinese interest in the Arab region. China strongly supports its relations with the Middle East within the “Belt and Road” initiative, which increases curiosity towards the Gulf states. What serves this initiative is that Gulf Air conducting daily flights from China and linking them with flights to Egypt.
He stated that the behavior of travelers is changing, and studies have shown that Chinese travelers now prefer multi -destiny trips, with increasing interest in cultural experiences.
He explained that the Chinese traveler prefers the organized trips (Group Tours), so that the duration of the ideal journey of these groups is usually between 7 to 10 days, which allows the two countries to visit within one program, and they are ready to spend if they feel that the experience is exclusive or culturally wealthy.
And on the most important criteria and reasons that make the common journey feasible and attractive to Chinese travelers, is the diversity of experience between the two countries; While Egypt provides an experience rich in history and ancient civilizations (pyramids, museums, Nile), Bahrain offers a mixture of Gulf heritage, and traditional markets, with modern tourism infrastructure (resorts, shopping centers, cultural activities). This diversity is for the Chinese tourist who is looking for cultural and modern experiences at the same time.
Al -Amin believes that one of the most important basic factors for the success of this tourism strategy is to provide Chinese speaking translators or a tourist guide that speaks the Chinese language, and the marketing of the trip via Chinese platforms such as: WeChat, Weibo, and Mafengwo, in addition to partnership with Chinese agencies licensed to organize groups.
On the role of tourism offices in the success of this strategy, he stressed that they should start forming these packages in cooperation with Egyptian tourism companies, especially those who attended the launch of this initiative by the Minister of Tourism and its Egyptian counterpart during the Arab travel market, and showed interest in cooperation with their Bahraini counterparts and the start of marketing for them.
It is noteworthy that the Chinese market is considered one of the most prominent targeted markets within the tourism strategy 2022-2026, and it has signed the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, since last year a partnership with tourist offices in China in order to promote the Kingdom in the Chinese market.
