Abu Dhabi, China Tourism Academy partner to certify Chinese-friendly hotels

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) and the Chinese Tourism Academy have chosen 20 hotels in the UAE that will receive the certification to support the growing Chinese tourists market, state news agency WAM reported.

The Abu Dhabi TCA and the Chinese Tourism Academy will issue the certificates to 20-yet-to-be-disclosed resorts in a gala ceremony on Feb. 9 at the Yas Island.

The certified hotels employ Chinese speaking staff, offer Chinese food and they have menus and tourists guides in mandarin ready for guests who are unfamiliar with Arabic or English.

According to TCA, Abu Dhabi received 120,350 guests from China in 2014, an increase of 166 percent from the previous year.

"Recently, we've significantly improved the numbers of Chinese guests to our hotels, but we need them to sightsee more and stay longer," said Sultan Al Dhaheri, the acting executive director for tourism at TCA.

As of 2009, Chinese travelers can easily apply for group tourist visas to the UAE.

"It is estimated that by 2020, the size of the Chinese outbound travel market will exceed 200 million annually," said Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy.