International expo sees increased efforts to woo Chinese tourists

Xi’an: Although Kyrgyzstan might be unfamiliar to many Chinese tourists, Liusher Musaev undertook nearly 100 consultations about trips to the Central Asian nation during a three-day expo in China.

“Welcome to Kyrgyzstan! Here you can experience mountain climbing, skiing and even hunting,” the sales manager at the Asia Expeditions travel company said in Chinese as he busily welcomed visitors to his booth at the 2024 Xi’an Silk Road International Tourism Expo.

The event, which concluded on Sunday in Xi’an, the capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, witnessed a palpable enthusiasm for tapping into the international travel fervor among Chinese tourists following the pandemic travel lull.

The expo brought together tourism companies from 22 countries and regions, including Germany, Egypt and Poland, to connect with local partners and ink cooperation deals in one of the world’s leading tourist source markets.

Asia Expeditions focuses on tours in the five Central Asian nations. Since the establishment of the company in 2014, Musaev has observed a notable rise in the number of Chinese tourists, who are extending both the duration and depth of their visits to the region.

Growing cooperation and exchange between China and Central Asia, as well as the launch of flights from Xi’an to Almaty in Kazakhstan and Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, has helped bring in more Chinese tourists, Musaev said.

“With more Chinese tourists visiting Central Asian countries, many previously niche destinations have seen a boost in development, and now have better infrastructure and finer tourist services,” he added.

According to the China Tourism Academy, the number of outbound Chinese tourists in 2024 is forecast to exceed 130 million, marking a 49-percent surge from the 87 million recorded in 2023.

Favorable visa policies and improved air connectivity have fueled the recent international wanderlust among Chinese tourists, according to industry observers.

Moataz Abdellah, a sales manager at Galaxia Group, is actively promoting Egypt tours, capitalizing on the country’s visa-on-arrival policy for Chinese travelers.

“Chinese tourists are now interested in a wider range of destinations, from South Asia, Central Asia to Africa, Middle East and South America. We want to take our opportunity,” he said.

Overseas destinations that have long been popular with Chinese travelers are also eager to attract even more visitors.

Catherine Yong, operation manager at Malaysian travel company Sunflower Holidays, said the company hopes to promote all kinds of Malaysian tourism in China.

The Southeast Asian country recorded more than 1 million visitors from China between January and May, a 194-percent surge from last year, according to the country’s tourism, arts and culture ministry.

“Malaysia is already among the top tourist destinations for Chinese people. We hope that in the future, the tour exchanges can go beyond just sightseeing to also include forms of education, conferences, and so on,” Yong said.