Dubai expects to greet 20m tourists by 2020

Dubai expects to greet at least 20 million tourists by 2020 to the emirate, tourism and airline sources said on Monday.

Dubai regards China as its top source market for more tourists in the future, said Issam Abdul Rahim Kazim, CEO of the Dubai corporation for tourism and commerce marketing (DCTCM).

He made the assertions at the opening press conference for this year's tourism fair Arabian travel market which starts on Monday.

The tourism official also believed that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are also among the major source markets.

Kazim told Xinhua that he will soon travel to Beijing for activities of the Dubai week in China, which will start later this week. The week-long program seeks to introduce industrial sectors of the Gulf Arab emirate to China's business community and its general public.

In 2014, 13.2 million visitors flocked to "Fly-Buy-Dubai," as the emirate is nicknamed. The number of Chinese tourists surged by 25 percent year on year, Kazim said.

Commenting on a gradual comeback of Egypt's tourism, Kazim said Dubai does not take Egypt as a competitor in the tourism sector as the two offers tourists with different kinds of travel and leisure products and services.

Dubai stands for beach holidays, family entertainment, shopping, leisure and business, he added.

He also said the The World Expo 2020 in Dubai, the first Arab city ever to host the world-famed event, will be a major boost to the sheikhdom's growing tourist markets.

Sheikh Majid Al- Mualla, senior official with Dubai's state-owned carrier Emirates Airline, said China's "Belt and Road" initiative will certainly help boost the emirate's tourism industry.

He added that the influx of visitors from Asia, as well as from growing markets in the West, will compensate the losses due to turmoils in a number of Arab countries.