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Saudi Arabia, Qatar to add more direct China flights to give post-pandemic tourism a lift
- Tourism sectors in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar are adding more non-stop routes with mainland China and Hong Kong
- Saudi Arabia hopes to attract 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030, after 140,000 Chinese visitors went to the Middle East country last year
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Saudi Arabia and Qatar will add more direct flights with mainland China and Hong Kong as they take advantage of a rebound of Chinese tourists following the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism officials of the two Middle East countries said.
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In an exclusive interview with the Post on Wednesday, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said there would “absolutely” be more direct flights with China soon.
“We created the airlines and direct flights [from China] to Saudi Arabia to make sure that we are connected,” Al-Khateeb said on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum 2024 in Doha. “Commercial flights [increasing] depends on demands, but the statistics are very promising; we are very optimistic.”
Last month, three of China’s top airlines – Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines – began direct services from Beijing and Shanghai to the Saudi capital Riyadh.
This followed the launch of direct flights by Saudi Arabian Airlines from Jeddah and Riyadh to Beijing and Guangzhou last year.
Al-Khateeb also said there were plans in the pipeline for more direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, with details to be announced “very soon”.
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