RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has lofty aspirations to draw millions of more tourists each year, which raises the question of which source markets these visitors will come from.
Jasmine Geffner, chief financial officer at Dorsett Hospitality International, said Saudi Arabia’s Vision2030 objective of welcoming 100 million visitors per year could be satisfied purely from the 10% of the Chinese population that holds a passport.
Sandeep Walia, chief operating officer in the Middle East at Marriott International, replied that he could provide a bigger pool to cover that number by marketing to the 182 million members of his firm’s loyalty platform, Bonvoy.
Those two staggeringly large numbers of potential guests point to the huge tourism landscape that is being created in Saudi Arabia.
During a panel discussion at the Future Hospitality Summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the topic of Chinese outbound travelers and their influence, BBC presenter and conference moderator Rajan Datar said China was the largest outbound travel group in the world before the pandemic and that it likely will be the largest again very soon.
This fact is not lost on the Saudis, including investors, developers and operators active in or soon to be active in Saudi Arabia, panelists said.
Oliver Bonke, CEO and chairman of Deutsche Hospitality, which is part of Chinese hotel firm H World Group, said he has witnessed the rise of the Chinese middle class. The demographic is now around 55% of China's population and likely to grow further, and Bonke said that growth “is unprecedented in Western economies.”
“There is now incredible discernible income, and the cost of living in China is still a little lower than in other comparable economies,” he said.
The ease of travel between the two countries is improving and the number of cross-border visitors should continue to grow. Saudi Arabia has simplified its visa process in only two years. Previously it was virtually impossible to enter the kingdom, but now Saudi Arabia can issue e-visas that arrive in 30 minutes or so. China, meanwhile, has cut the length of time it takes for its citizens to get a passport from approximately six months to 10 days or so.
Dorsett had 63 hotels in Asia and Europe. Geffner said her firm could see the benefits of developing in Saudi Arabia to help drive Chinese travelers familiar with its hotels in its home base of Hong Kong.
“For outbound Chinese, their first stop is Hong Kong, where we have 10 hotels, so they are very familiar with us, which will allow us to help them follow their international journey,” she said.
“Currently, [Dorsett has] nothing in the Middle East, but we see the potential, and we are looking now, with Saudi Arabia at the top of the list,” she added.
Geffner said China has not returned to its pre-pandemic numbers of outbound travelers, but what has changed in their travel appetite.
She said pre-pandemic, Chinese travelers spent $7.3 trillion on international travel.
“Today, it is a different dynamic. They are looking for customized travel and time with their families,” she said.
Bonke said his data shows that Chinese travel is governed by airlift and visa availability.
He referred to the several new international airports Saudi Arabia is building as another demand generator for Chinese travelers.
“The recent Chinese Labor weekend saw a spike in international travel as Western countries lifted their Schengen restrictions. There definitely remains interest in international travel,” he added.
Chinese Tourists on the Horizon
Geffner said Saudi hotels, among others, should prepare to receive Chinese guests as a matter of urgency.
“At all our hotels, we have several Chinese-speaking staff. The Middle East still has some way to go to cater to the Chinese traveler,” she said.
With so much emphasis at the conference on Saudi Arabian hospitality, warmth and food, it still might not be enough to offer only that and not cater to some of the things Chinese guests still consider essential.
“It is of course dangerous to generalize about the Chinese, with its many different regions, but in general there are some trends emerging,” Geffner said.
She added that the Chinese population now has sufficient funds to travel multiple times. The immediate Saudi e-visa allows for multiple visits within one calendar year, which likely presents another reason to try a new country such as China.
“More Chinese are doing their own planning and building their itineraries, but they might need help in suggestions of where to go in a city and help in booking. They also do not like to use cash,” she said.
Bonke said Saudi Arabia is not on that travel bucket list as yet, but, conversely, with 50% not in that category, that leaves plenty of demand among the more curious sector of outbound traveler.
“They are strangers in a strange land, and they want to experience something different, or they would not have come,” he said.
But both countries and their populations have much in common, Geffner said.
“Saudi Arabia has a heritage as long as [the Chinese,” she said.
“Trade, culture, investment. We see it going both ways,” Bonke added.