Sanya
Image Credit: Sanya

On the occasion of the "5.19 China Tourism Day" thematic month, the Sanya Tourism Board went to the Middle East to carry out a series of marketing and promotional events for Sanya's overseas tourism in 2024. During the period from May 13th to 26th, the Sanya Tourism Board held the Sanya Food Festival in Dubai, the Sanya Food & Culture Exchange and Promotion Week, tourism promotion events, and business visits to tourism associations, enterprises, and chambers of commerce representatives, among other activities, to showcase Sanya's unique tourism resources and cultural charms comprehensively.

This is the first time Sanya has ventured into the Middle East to carry out cross-border tourism marketing and promotional events, and it's also an important initiative for Sanya to expand its passenger sources in overseas markets by leveraging the international aviation hub in the Middle East. The Sanya Food Festival in Dubai is the highlight of the series of overseas tourism marketing and promotional events. The "A Bite in Two Cities" Campaign thematic activity was jointly launched by the Sanya Tourism Board, Dubai Tourism, Atlantis Sanya, and Atlantis Dubai.

The campaign, with the theme of "Cuisine as a Medium, Two Cities' Collaboration," and the characteristic of "Culture and Tourism Fusion," realizes the first cross-border cooperation between Sanya and the Middle East, deepening exchanges between the two places in various fields such as tourism, culture, commerce, and trade.

In the "A Bite in Two Cities" campaign, two chefs from Sanya and Dubai Atlantis exchanged destinations, bringing fresh culinary experiences to tourists in each other's cities. From April 28th to May 12th, the "Dubai Food Festival" was held in Sanya, where Ali El Bourji, the Executive Chef of Dubai Atlantis, introduced authentic Middle Eastern delicacies such as Tagine Chicken Stew and Lebanese Fattoush Salad to Chinese tourists.

From May 13th to 26th, during the "Sanya Food Festival" in Dubai, Norman Yu, the Executive Chef of Atlantis Sanya, led a team to Dubai to prepare authentic Sanya dishes such as Wenchang Chicken, Hele Crab, and Qingbuliang, allowing Dubai's tourists to enjoy a feast. During the "Sanya Food Festival" in Dubai, the Sanya Food & Culture Exchange and Promotion Week in the Middle East was held concurrently. The event featured displays of Li Brocade, Li Pottery, rattan weaving, and colorful clay carvings, along with traditional clothes trying on, partridge tea tasting, coconut snacks, coconut candy tasting, and other interactions showcasing Sanya's cultural characteristics, thus comprehensively displaying Sanya's tropical resort style and ethnic cultural charm. The atmosphere at the event was lively.

On May 21st, the 2024 Sanya Overseas Tourism Promotion Event in the Middle East was held at Atlantis, Dubai, with more than 60 travel-related companies and media outlets in the Middle East attending. During the promotion, the Sanya Tourism Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Rayna Tours, a large local travel agency in the UAE, to strengthen flight connections, mutual transportation of passengers, and the development of the culture and tourism industry.