The growing ties between Dubai and China will once again be in the spotlight as the emirate is set to welcome 6,000 members of the worldwide Chinese insurance and financial industry to a prestigious awards ceremony, which will be held for the first time outside Asia.
The 2015 International Dragon Award (IDA) Annual Meeting, which has been honouring the industry's best and brightest performers for over 15 years, comes at a time when the emirate's inbound visitor numbers from China are hitting new highs. The event will be held from August 22-25 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Speaking at a Press conference on Wednesday to announce the group's arrival, Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of Dubai Tourism, revealed that overnight visitor numbers from China in the first six months of 2015 had reached 241,000 guests, a healthy 25 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
"Dubai's hosting of this important and highly-anticipated Chinese industry event is testament to the efforts being made by tourism stakeholders to position the emirate as a premier destination for business and leisure travel. China is a very important inbound market for Dubai, and the emirate is making big efforts to attract more Chinese visitors," Kazim said.
IDA 2015 will see delegates from 17 countries gather for meetings, networking events, award ceremonies and sightseeing tours across Dubai, and comes as a result of concerted efforts by Dubai Tourism and Dubai Business Events, or DBE, a division of Dubai Tourism that serves as the city's official convention bureau, to strengthen ties with key markets such as China, and to ensure that Dubai's constantly evolving destination offer is well communicated to attract both new travelers as well as repeat visitors.
Steen Jakobsen, director of DBE, added: "We are honoured that Dubai was selected as the first city outside of Asia to host the International Dragon Award 2015 event, and we are very much looking forward to showcasing this remarkable city to the thousands of delegates who will be attending. Dubai is particularly well-suited for Chinese visitors thanks to its high standards of hospitality and vast array of leisure attractions."
The 2015 IDA Annual Meeting will not only bring thousands of delegates to Dubai, but also help extend Dubai's image and reputation amongst influential Chinese business circles as one of the world's most recommended convention and tourism destinations. Dubai won the bid to host the event in August 2014 after an extensive two year investigatory process organized by the Worldwide Chinese Life Insurance Congress, the organisers of the event, and the emirate is keen to continue welcoming large delegations from China. IDA 2015 is the largest conference group to visit Dubai so far this year.
Richard Wu, chairman of the 2015 IDA Annual Meeting, said: "We chose Dubai not only because it is one of the most attractive tourism destinations in the world, but also because it has a state-of-the-art business and convention center which is equipped with all the latest facilities."
