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Chinese, Russians shore up Middle East tourism
MADRID, Jan 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Chinese and Russian visitors boosted
Middle Eastern tourism last year following a 2016 slump as Europeans gave the
area a wide berth on security fears, according to the World Tourism
Organization (WTO).
The Mideast region as a whole drew 58 million foreign tourists in 2017 —
a 4.8 percent rise on the previous year — the Madrid-based WTO said in its
latest figures released midweek.
Jihadist attacks on tourist sites in Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey in recent
years particularly hit the industry.
But “over time, people forget and return,” said Jalel Gasmi, head of
Granada Travel Services, a tour operator attending the Fitur international
tourism gathering in the Spanish capital.
Despite the annual rise, Marcus Lee, heading the Welcome China agency,
said the sector could not rest on its laurels.
For Chinese visitors, security “is the first thing they ask about” beyond
visa regulations and often poor flight connections in the Middle East, said
Lee.
Security concerns aside, Lee said rising purchasing power means the
Chinese tourist takes a different approach compared to 20 years ago when,
“for example … coming to Europe they wanted to see ten countries in ten
days.
“That’s no longer the case and we are concentrating on one country over
ten days,” said Lee.
– Egyptian turnaround –
In the case of Egypt, tourist numbers soared 55 percent last year, even as
European numbers dipped, with Chinese and visitors from Egypt’s neighbours
taking their place.
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Visitor profiles have changed since military man Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came
to power in 2014 and especially since the 2011 overthrow of longtime Hosni
Mubarak.
Before then, “the European market, including Russia, accounted for almost
80 percent (of tourists) but now, 52 percent,” said Hesham El Demeiry, head
of the Egyptian tourist authority, adding Chinese and Indian visitors rose
from 5 to 12 percent while tourists from Egypt’s neighbours doubled their
share from 15 to 30 percent.
Turkey, meanwhile, is back in business after the fallout from the July
2016 coup saw visitor numbers slide by a third, before a similar rise last
year.
Ankara is out to keep on attracting more visitors from Russia — whose
tourists poured in during 2017 — as well as neighbours including Iran and
Ukraine.
The downside, according to Turkish tour operator Ahmet Okay, is that the
newcomers are likely to spend fewer tourist dollars than their EU or US
counterparts.
Tunisia is also on the way back thanks to a surge in Russian and Chinese
visitors with a 23 percent rise in visitors last year over 2016.
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