Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, announced on Monday the “1000 Chinese visitors to Morocco” campaign with the Beijing Yougo World International Travel Service Co. Ltd. (Uniway), the largest Chinese tour operator specializing in outbound tourism in the Middle East and Africa.
The award-winning airline has also partnered with the Moroccan National Tourism Office to support plans to attract 100,000 Chinese visitors each year by 2018. This is helped by the visa waiver policy for Chinese tourists since June 1, 2016. Uniway plans to fly 1,000 Chinese travelers with Etihad Airways to Morocco between February and June 2017.
“We are delighted to see the obvious increase in demand and the great interest of Chinese tourists in visiting Morocco. This is thanks to the visa waiver policy granted by the Moroccan government,” said Daniel Barranger, senior vice president of global sales at Etihad Airways.
“The UAE government has also granted visa on arrival to Chinese visitors since November 1 this year, which positions Abu Dhabi as a perfect stopover for visitors before arriving in Morocco. They can spend a few days enjoying Abu Dhabi, a modern and dynamic Arab city that offers a rich variety of leisure activities to tourists.
Etihad Airways operates daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Casablanca, and twice-weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Rabat, the capital of Morocco.
Non-stop flights between China and Abu Dhabi will allow Chinese tourists coming from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hong Kong to benefit from a relaxing and adequate connection through the Abu Dhabi hub to their final destination in Morocco.
He Zhenbin, CEO of Uniway, said: “The number of Chinese tourists to the Middle East and Africa has increased significantly in recent years. Etihad Airways is the airline of choice for the Chinese customer offering convenient connections, dedicated in-flight service, personalized products, as well as competitive prices.”
Rabia Talhimet, spokesperson for the Moroccan National Tourism Office, says: “We are confident that we will be able to attract 100,000 Chinese visitors each year by 2018. The Moroccan National Tourism Office will strengthen its cooperation with Etihad Airways in the Chinese tourism market. In the meantime, we will accelerate the availability of infrastructure, including our digital presence in China, as well as the availability of the local hospitality industry to meet the needs of Chinese tourists.
