Sanya Tourism Board recently embarked on a series of marketing and promotion events in the Middle East to showcase the city’s unique tourism resources and cultural charms. This initiative marked the first time Sanya has conducted cross-border tourism marketing in the region. The highlight of the campaign was the Sanya Food Festival in Dubai, which featured a thematic activity called ‘A Bite in Two Cities.’ This collaboration between Sanya Tourism Board, Dubai Tourism, Atlantis Sanya, and Atlantis Dubai, exchanged chefs to bring fresh culinary experiences to tourists in both cities. From April 28th to May 12th, Dubai Atlantis’ Executive Chef Ali El Bourji introduced Middle Eastern delicacies to Sanya, while Atlantis Sanya’s Executive Chef Norman Yu led a team to prepare authentic Sanya dishes in Dubai from May 13th to 26th. The Sanya Food & Culture Exchange and Promotion Week was held concurrently with the Sanya Food Festival in Dubai. This event showcased Sanya’s cultural heritage through interactive displays of Li Brocade, Li Pottery, rattan weaving, and colorful clay carvings, as well as opportunities to try on traditional clothes, taste partridge tea, coconut snacks, and coconut candy. On May 21st, the 2024 Sanya Overseas Tourism Promotion Event in the Middle East was held at Atlantis, Dubai, with the attendance of over 60 travel-related companies and media outlets from the region. During the promotion, Sanya Tourism Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rayna Tours, a large local travel agency in the UAE, to strengthen flight connections, passenger transportation, and cultural tourism industry development. Representatives from Sanya Tourism Board also visited several large travel agencies and discussed characteristics of tourism markets, marketing strategies, and cooperation opportunities. The UAE, located at the crossroads of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative, is a key inbound tourist market for Sanya. The establishment of the first international route connecting Abu Dhabi and Haikou on January 30th, 2024, has facilitated bilateral travel and cooperation in various sectors. Sanya Tourism Board’s Middle East marketing campaign aligns with its goal of strengthening tourism linkage and exchange with destinations along the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative. Leveraging Dubai’s status as an international aviation hub, Sanya aims to expand its ‘one trip with multiple stops’ tourism products, develop new source markets, and foster long-term cooperation.
Sanya Tourism Expands Overseas Presence with Middle East Marketing Drive
