Dai Bin | China-Arab Tourism Requires Digital Overpasses, More Than Humanistic Oasis - Keynote Speech at the China-UAE Tourism Forum

On July 16th, the "China-UAE Tourism Cooperation Forum", jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and the Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, with the participation of the China Tourism Academy, the "Embrace China" Executive Committee of the UAE, and the China International Exhibition Center, was successfully held through video link. President Dai Bin attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech. The full text is as follows:

China-Arab tourism requires digital interchanges as well as humanistic new oases - Keynote Speech at the China-UAE Tourism Forum (July 16, 2020, Beijing) Director of the China Tourism Academy, Dai Bin

Respected Director Xie Jinying, Consul General Li Xuhang, Respected President Issam Kazim, colleagues from the tourism industry of China and the UAE, friends from the media, good afternoon! Benefiting from political mutual trust, economic and trade exchanges, and people-to-people friendship, as well as the joint efforts of the foreign affairs, immigration, culture and tourism departments, personnel exchanges between China and the UAE are becoming increasingly frequent. Over the past five years, the number of bilateral visits has increased by an average of 25% annually, reaching nearly 1.8 million. The UAE is the most popular Arab country among Chinese citizens and ranks among the top outbound destinations for Chinese citizens. In 2019, approximately 1.12 million Chinese citizens made the UAE their first stop, representing a year-on-year increase of 17.2%. Including Chinese citizens entering from other countries and regions, the UAE received a total of 1.75 million Chinese tourists last year, ranking fifteenth among outbound tourist destinations for Chinese citizens, first among West Asian and North African countries, and far ahead of other Gulf countries, such as Jordan (94,900 visitors), Oman (38,600 visitors), Bahrain (27,200 visitors), and Kuwait (20,400 visitors). The UAE is also a high-potential market attracting significant attention from the Chinese tourism industry, particularly MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), business travel, and high-end customized travel agencies. Since January 16, 2018, China and the UAE have implemented a mutual visa exemption policy, and the growth rate of UAE tourists visiting China quickly rose from single digits to over 20%. In 2019, the number of UAE visitors to China reached 11,800, a year-on-year increase of 22.3%. As is well known, in the first half of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the tourism economy, including outbound travel. Domestic tourism saw negative growth of 83.4% and 51.0% in the first and second quarters, respectively, with organized medium- and long-distance travel activities, including outbound tourism, almost completely halted. In the first half of the year, the total number of trips by urban and rural residents reached 932 million, with an average expenditure of RMB 679.08 per trip, representing year-on-year negative growth of 69.7% and 25.3%, respectively. From the current situation, the tourism industry has paid a heavy price, but this price has been worthwhile. To date, there has been no spread of the epidemic due to tourism activities, no large-scale closures of tourism enterprises or unemployment, and no major tourism safety accidents or complaints. Tourists generally approve of and are satisfied with the measures taken by the government and businesses. Looking ahead to the tourism economy in the second half of the year, our expectations remain optimistic. Under the personal deployment and command of President Xi Jinping, China has achieved a decisive victory in the fight against the epidemic. With the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, tourism consumption confidence will steadily recover, and coupled with the peak season of summer, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day holidays, the fundamentals of the tourism market will be effectively supported. New demands such as self-driving tours, summer health and wellness tours, and study tours are emerging. At the same time, new drivers of tourism development, including science and technology, culture, education, and trade, are accumulating. As the epidemic is effectively controlled in countries around the world, especially those along the Belt and Road Initiative, we have reason to believe that trade, cultural exchanges, and tourism cooperation between China and the UAE will soon usher in even broader development prospects. Dear colleagues and friends, the pandemic will eventually pass, and we should look forward with full confidence, focusing on tourist satisfaction and leveraging digital development to make full preparations for post-pandemic market recovery and industrial revitalization. We need to establish a tourism destination image centered on safety, friendliness, quality, and convenience. Although tourism exchanges between China and Arab countries are at their best in history, tourists' impressions of each other remain superficial and symbolic. China boasts 5,000 years of civilization, a vast land area of ​​9.6 million square kilometers, and a population of 1.4 billion. It has a long history, splendid culture, and beautiful landscapes. China will soon achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and all aspects of its economy and society are in the process of rapid development. China not only has international metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, but also underdeveloped areas in the west; not only the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Dunhuang, the Terracotta Army, Peking Opera, and pandas, but also Yunnan, where flowers bloom, Hainan, a free trade port and international tourism island, young people studying quietly in museums, art galleries, and libraries, and elderly people singing joyfully in cultural centers. Numerous elements combine to create a beautiful, culturally rich, and unimaginable China—a China worth embracing (Hala China). The UAE boasts deserts, bays, and oil; Etihad Airways, the Burj Khalifa, the Burj Khalifa, the Emirates Palace, and the Gold Souk; it also features the futuristic Ferrari World and the under-construction Guggenheim Museum. Its people not only cherish traditional cultures like saber dancing, falconry, and Arabic coffee, but also contemplate the future of their nation in the process of modernization. I remember visiting Abu Dhabi five years ago and being asked what impressed me most about the city. My answer was a promotional poster I saw at the airport: on a beach with rolling waves, an Arab man in a white robe crouches down, opening his arms to welcome his son running towards him. The father is kind, the child is joyful. At that moment, the UAE in my mind was a paradise of family, happiness, and safety. We need to expand beyond high-level visits and officially organized cultural exchanges to promote tourism and foster people-to-people exchanges. Regrettably, current tourism promotion focuses more on grand narratives of nature and history, rarely telling stories of contemporary life in foreign lands from the tourist's perspective. Tourism promotion lacking depth and humanistic concern often only drives people away, rather than drawing them in. I followed the "Embrace China (Hala China UAE)" Chinese WeChat official account, launched on June 9th of this year. It contained three posts: an official announcement of the account's launch, an advertisement for the China-UAE Digital Trade Expo, and a conference handbook for the Smart Cities and Big Data section. The latter two posts each had fewer than 150 views. In mainstream media and online social platforms, aside from official reports from embassies in China, there is relatively little cultural and tourism information available to the general public, perhaps due to the lack of dedicated tourism promotion agencies. In fact, both China and the UAE need to conduct more in-depth and systematic research on each other's source markets and gain a more localized and empathetic understanding of contemporary living spaces, from theaters to farmers' markets. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism could establish tourism offices in Dubai or Abu Dhabi targeting West Asia and North Africa, while the UAE Ministry of Economy could establish a "Hala China UAE" tourism promotion center in China. In this process, "Welcome Chinese," under the China Tourism Academy, is willing to provide professional services in areas such as market data, research reports, forum organization, and standards certification. We need to strengthen digital infrastructure and the application of modern technology to enhance tourists' sense of gain and satisfaction. After the agricultural and industrial revolutions, human society is now experiencing a global information revolution. The integration of digital technology with the tourism economy is accelerating the release of new tourism consumption demands and the cultivation of new tourism formats. In 2019, China's digital economy added value reached 35.8 trillion yuan, accounting for 36.2% of GDP. Today, the widespread application of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and 5G is profoundly changing the entire process of tourists' destination information acquisition, consumption decisions, consumption behavior, and post-trip evaluation. In daily life, people use smartphones like Huawei and Apple to access information about overseas travel destinations on portals like Google and Baidu, social media platforms like Facebook, Weibo, and WeChat, and video websites like Douyin and Kuaishou. They also share travel guides from ordinary tourists and key opinion leaders (KOLs) on professional travel websites like Mafengwo and Qyer. After making travel decisions, they book flights, hotels, restaurants, and other travel services through online platforms of travel agencies such as Ctrip, Qunar, Meituan, and China International Travel Service (CITS), Caissa, Spring Airlines, and GZL Travel. More and more outbound tourists, especially young people, prefer independent travel and self-guided tours. They use Google Maps, Gaode Maps, and Beidou Navigation to obtain location information and local news, use iFlytek's instant translation software to communicate, and complete payments through Alipay and WeChat Pay. Today, more and more digital travel service providers are following in the footsteps of tourists, cooperating with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative to provide tourists with high-quality and convenient services. As President Xi Jinping pointed out in his written address at the High-Level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation last month: Promoting connectivity and upholding openness and inclusiveness are the only way to address global crises and achieve long-term development. Following the trend of the times, building a digital bridge for tourism exchange and cooperation is a strategic choice that the tourism authorities and market entities of both governments should work together towards. Colleagues and friends,

Whether it's cultural exchange or tourism, the goal should be to enhance the public's sense of gain and satisfaction. Good relations between countries depend on the affinity between their people, and this affinity requires frequent visits. As people's travel experience matures, destination infrastructure and public service systems improve, and the business environment modernizes, tourists' core demands are shifting from beautiful scenery to a better life. While representative natural and cultural heritage sites, city landmarks, and popular photo spots are still worth visiting, the beautiful living spaces, from theaters to farmers' markets, should be shared. The former determines whether tourists are willing to visit, while the latter determines their satisfaction and repeat visits. The China Tourism Academy monitors the satisfaction of international tourists visiting China and Chinese outbound tourists every quarter and publishes relevant indices and research reports. We see that tourists from the UAE "love China's green vegetation; China has mountains and rivers, it's simply paradise"; they also love the local delicacies, saying, "China is so full of life; the spicy hot pot is irresistible." Regarding the shopping experience, the abundance of goods and convenient payment methods also leave a deep impression on tourists. "China's small commodity markets are so cool," and "QR code payment is so convenient." Chinese tourists also pay close attention to their daily life experiences during their stay in the UAE. They praise the local transportation system, noting that "the innovative driverless technology makes it a smart city with a variety of transportation options, including subways, light rail, buses, water transport, and even self-driving tours, all ensuring smooth travel." They enjoy local camel milk, coffee, dates, and shawarma, adding, "Every Arabian restaurant offers a plate of flatbread." They share the small but certain happiness found in spice markets, saying, "Among the dazzling array of souvenirs, I especially love the little camel figurines and snuff bottles; they always remind me of the story of Aladdin and the Genie." They feel welcome and are more willing to spend more when they see airports, hotels, restaurants, theme parks, and museums certified with "Welcome Chinese." However, we also note that the UAE doesn't pay enough attention to Chinese tourists outside the business and incentive market, and hasn't further segmented their spending characteristics by age, region, and social class. Furthermore, China lacks systematic research and targeted project development regarding the needs of UAE tourists from Muslim countries, particularly their cultural and dietary habits. It is hoped that through this conference, especially the two subsequent roundtable discussions led by local tourism promotion agencies and entrepreneurs, as well as the specially organized "cloud exhibition," we can reach a consensus on new spaces and strategies for tourism exchange and cooperation. We hope that more tourism enterprises, technology, cultural, and investment institutions will communicate and exchange ideas, and that we can meet in person in China and the UAE after the pandemic. That day will come soon! On our journeys between China and the UAE, we will see interconnected digital interchanges and experience new oases of human connection.