Riyadh, Oct 13 (IANS): As Saudi Arabia aims to attract more Chinese tourists to the Middle Eastern country and cooperate more with Chinese companies, it has its path chartered before it.

Deputy Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia Sultan Al Musallam, speaking at an event, said about the kingdom’s emergence as a global tourism powerhouse and its plans to attract more Chinese tourists in the coming year.

“We started in 2010 with our national tourism strategy and we are embarking on the second phase. That is about unlocking new source markets, namely China and others,” he said.

“We started the year without any connectivity to China, and today we have already four Chinese airlines connecting three different cities in China to Saudi Arabia,” he added.

The passenger seat volume has only been increasing, which is seen as conducive to bringing in more Chinese tourists.

Saudi Arabia’s historical district Diriyah, a UNESCO world heritage site in Riyadh, seeks to receive more tourists from China and cooperate with more Chinese companies.

Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO, Diriyah Gate Development Authority, said: “We have a very big mandate for 2025 for China. We have announced many joint ventures with Chinese land operators."

"The opportunity for Chinese companies to do business in the kingdom is enormous," he added.