Up to 265,698 Chinese tourists visited Dubai in the past five months since the UAE began granting visa on arrival for Chinese nationals, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) has announced.

The GDRFA said that since the announcement by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in 2016 on granting Chinese tourists visa on arrival instead of having to secure visas before they travel to the UAE, the GDRFA has been working to facilitate the entry of Chinese nationals to the country based on best practices.

Major-General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director of GDRFA, said the Dubai International Airport immigration officers welcomed 308,794 Chinese visitors between November 2016 and March 2017. A total of 265,698 tourists were granted free visa on arrival in Dubai for a period of 60 days during the same period.

Al Merri highlighted the importance that the UAE places on its strategic partnership with China, noting that enhancing cooperation between the two countries strengthens the status of the UAE globally.

“Our wise leadership has affirmed that its relations with China is strategic and of great priority. It seeks to expand its cooperation to serve the common objectives and interests of the two countries in all fields.”

He added that “the UAE, and Dubai in particular, is a tourist destination with visitors coming from all over the globe.”

“The UAE is an economic partner with many countries and it is important to have this kind of partnership and cooperation with all countries, especially with a large country like China.”