White Paper: Chinese Tourism to MENA 2026

There have been significant shifts since Dragon Trail published its first white paper on Chinese tourism to the Middle East and North Africa just 10 months ago. The original report came out during a time of remarkable growth in Chinese visitation to the region. By 2025, the Middle East was the only world region to receive more Chinese tourists than it had in 2019. At the start of 2026, Tourism Economics forecast that Chinese arrivals to the region would more than double from 2019 to 2030. The 2026 Chinese New Year holiday saw year-on-year growth rates of more than 200% in Chinese bookings for Oman, Türkiye, and Qatar, across multiple Chinese travel platforms.

With US and Israeli attacks on Iran and ensuing regional instability coinciding with the end of the Chinese New Year holiday, flights and tours were canceled, and the Chinese government issued a travel warning for the whole GCC. As of writing, most travel warnings have already been lifted, but many flights operated by Chinese carriers remain suspended, and traveler confidence has been shaken. From rapid growth, Chinese tourism to MENA is now just beginning a very tentative recovery. While our original white paper on Chinese tourism to MENA told the story of market development and the appeal of the region to Chinese consumers, the purpose of this second edition is to support and guide that recovery.

The new edition offers refreshed arrivals data for MENA destinations for 2025 and into 2026, as well as updates on marketing outreach. There’s also new and expanded research on Chinese trade and consumer sentiment, conducted as part of Dragon Trail’s role as official Research Partner to both Arabian Travel Market and WTM Spotlight Riyadh in 2026.

Based on our research findings, we forecast that true recovery of Chinese tourism to MENA will not come before 2027’s National Day holiday in October – and this assumes that the region remains stable from now. The Chinese travel market is highly safety conscious, and rebuilding consumer confidence will take time.

However, there are many reasons for an optimistic long-term outlook. The Chinese outbound tourism market has repeatedly demonstrated its resilience, not least after three years of strict COVID-era controls on international travel, which were lifted in early 2023. Strong trade and political relationships, expanded air connectivity, and a proactive and committed approach to the Chinese tourism market by many destinations in the MENA region all bode well for recovery in the coming years.

We hope Dragon Trail’s trade and consumer research, as well as ongoing monitoring of Chinese tourism development and marketing outreach, contributes to this recovery and the sustained growth of China’s high-potential market to the Middle East and North Africa.

Click here to view and download the white paper

(Users in China: if you cannot open the above link, please contact us directly to receive your copy of the report)

About Dragon Trail: 

Dragon Trail International is a marketing solutions company headquartered in Beijing. Since our founding in 2009, we’ve focused on marketing for Chinese outbound tourism, working with destinations, hotels, airlines, attractions and other travel brands around the world to help them reach Chinese consumers and the Chinese travel trade. Our services include B2C and B2B content creation and digital marketing; virtual, hybrid, and offline events; research and strategy consulting; and PR and market representation services.

Dragon Trail is honored to be a part of the development of Chinese tourism to MENA through our work with destinations throughout the region, including Chinese travel agent engagement and training for The Royal Commission of AlUla and Ras Al Khaimah; Chinese market representation for the Sultanate of Oman; China roadshow organization for the Egyptian Tourism Authority; China-ready training for the Saudi Tourism Authority; and more. We are also proud Research Partners of WTM Spotlight Riyadh and Arabian Travel Market 2026.

Questions about the white paper, or how we can help you to launch or enhance your marketing to Chinese consumers and the travel trade? Contact us at communications@dragontrail.com