More than100mn Chinese tourists are expected to be travelling annually by 2020 and one of their preferred destinations is turning out to be the Middle East.Countries in the region are scrambling to meet the boon as the tourism trade moves to get back on its feet after the lull brought on by the turmoil of the Arab Spring.

At the recent ATMDubai Tourism Fair it was announced that just last year some 70mn Chinese went abroad. Tourism professionals at the conference emphasised the significance of having tourism industry workers with Chinese language skills, as well as the food and kitchen quality and culture to lure Chinese tourists.

The UAE received approved destination status in 2009 and more than 300,000 Chinese visited there the following year, spending $334mn, according to MasterCard survey figures. Chuang said Chinese visitors to the UAE have since grown 50% annually.

Egypt’s Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdul Noor said recently that airport fees would be cut and new tourism projects such as eco-tourism were being launched to lure Chinese, as well as Indians, Russians and Japanese.

The UNWTO has predicted that within the next five years China, with a population of some 1.3bn, will be the number one country in terms of both sending and receiving tourists. Professionals at the conference in Dubai said that desert safaris and shopping were priorities with designer goods high on the shopping list of the brand-conscious Chinese travellers.

They added that while twin-bedded rooms were the number one request, an essential in that room was a kettle to facilitate the preparation of hot instant noodles or rice.With nearly 485mn Chinese with access to the Internet, they also suggested that effective use of social media and the Internet was essential to tap into the potential Chinese tourist market.

Dubai has announced that it will also be issuing multiple entry visas for Chinese and other tourists who were arriving by cruise ship, thus reducing fees and encouraging more arrivals.

Sean Staunton, vice chairman of Dubai Duty Free, said that while Chinese travellers made up less than 4% of the total numbers of visitors, they accounted for 18% of the duty-free company’s annual turnover of $1.46bn. This included 42% of watch sales, 32% of cosmetics and 20% of sunglasses.