Abu Dhabi welcomed 23,618 Chinese hotel guests in the first seven months of 2013, up 36 per cent over the same period last year, with the emirate expecting further increases as the local industry develops tailored products and attractions to cater for the lucrative Chinese market.

According to Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, Chinese visitors accounted for 44,094 room nights in the emirate’s 146 hotel and hotel apartments from January to July this year, up 38 per cent over the same period last year, with average length of stay increasing marginally by two percent to 1.87 days.

Addressing the second Chinese Visitor Summit taking place at the five-star The Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal and attended by 75 top-tier Chinese travel buyers, Mohammed Al Dhaheri, director of strategy & policy, TCA Abu Dhabi, said the emirate’s tourism industry is now acutely aware of the need to tailor to specific Chinese needs.

“Local stakeholders are developing specific packages catering for peak Chinese travel times, such as Golden Week and Chinese New Year and are increasingly employing Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff to take advantage of opportunities afforded by the growing air links from China,” he said.

“Abu Dhabi will continue to see sustained interest from the world’s biggest outbound tourism sectors, which spent US$102 billion on international tourism in 2012.

“Chinese visitors are staying with us longer and in greater numbers, largely because there’s now much more to see and do with Yas Waterworld, public beaches on Yas and Saadiyat islands and a flurry of new hotels and resorts which have come on line.

“There are also more than 100 Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff in the emirate’s hotels, with this number growing all the time.”