Deal signed with Youli Hospitality to strengthens ties between Emaar and China, with plans to expand its Address branded hotels to key cities in the country.

The sales and marketing partnership has been agreed with Youli Hospitality Consulting and will see Emaar’s Address Hotels + Resorts and Vida Hotels and Resorts promoted throughout China, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Youli Consulting will promote Emaar Hospitality Group among Chinese travel and tour operators in addition to driving Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) traffic covering leading corporates. The hotels will also be promoted through a dedicated WeChat/Weibo account to engage the digital-savvy young Chinese travellers.

Chris Newman, chief operating officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “China continues to be one of the fastest-growing tourism markets for Dubai, led by its ‘China Ready’ strategy. Our hotels are among the most recognised and sought-after by Chinese visitors for its proximity to attractions such as Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall that are visited by 97 percent of all tourists to the city.”

According to Dubai Tourism data, the number of Chinese travellers to Dubai increased 13 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year to 291,662, while total number of Chinese travellers to the city last year was 857,000 – a growth of 12 percent over 2017.

The latest move strengthens ties between Emaar and China, with plans to expand its Address branded hotels to key cities in the country. Emaar is also developing the largest Chinatown in the Middle East at its new retail destination of the future, Dubai Square.

And last month Emaar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Beijing New Aeropolis Holdings (BNA) to jointly develop a business and tourism complex, which will integrate retail, entertainment, office, hotel hospitality, convention, sport, art and lifestyle functions in a one-stop solution in Beijing.

Emaar Properties, meanwhile, recorded one of its highest ever quarterly sales in Dubai in Q1 2019 at $1.628 billion (AED 5.979 billion), a 53% increase from $1.063bn (AED3.906bn) in the same period as 2018.

The rise in numbers was largely due to a 123% surge in sales to international customers, which more than doubled to $720 million (AED2.645bn) compared to $323m (AED1.187bn) in Q1 2018.