Middle East gains ground with Chinese tourists during Golden Week

The Middle East has traditionally not ranked among the top destinations for Chinese travelers, but that appears to be changing fast.

During this year’s extended Golden Week holiday — which runs Oct. 1–8 — Chinese travel reservations to Doha surged 441% from a year earlier, while bookings to Abu Dhabi rose 229%, according to Trip.com. The online travel agency said its data covered Sept. 27 to Oct. 8, as many office workers took additional leave to lengthen the break.

Meanwhile, Dubai saw a 27% increase, placing it among the top 10 destinations outside Asia, according to travel data analytics firm ForwardKeys, which counted international departures from China between Sept. 27 and Oct. 12.

The Emirate, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, was also one of the top choices for affluent Chinese travelers traveling on premium economy, business, and first class seats, with demand going up 133% year on year.

That rise reflects a broader trend of more Chinese travelers heading to the Middle East. Flights from China to the region have grown by 25% so far this year from the same period in 2024, Edmund Ong, general manager at Trip.com Singapore, told CNBC.

The growth is even more striking when compared to the same period in 2019, Ong said, with current levels over 180% higher than before the pandemic.

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.

Within the Middle East, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Oman were the most popular, Ong said.

Still, the usual suspects — nearby, affordable and visa-free Asian countries — continued to dominate outbound travel for Chinese tourists, led by Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore, data from Trip.com showed.