In April, a family from the United Arab Emirates – four adults, three children and a nanny – spent about 300,000 yuan (US$44,228) on a seven-day educational and business tour to China.

The trip was nearly cancelled as the Iran war repeatedly disrupted their flights and travel plans, but they eventually arrived in Shanghai.

“Their willingness to make the trip was unwavering,” said Lilian Liu at Middle East-focused tour operator UFOX Travel, who hosted the family. Such clients barely existed a few years ago, Liu said.

Her business once followed a familiar formula: taking Chinese entrepreneurs to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to explore property projects, free trade zones and energy developments, while organising study tours for Chinese students travelling to the Middle East.

The shift became apparent last winter, she noted, when she hosted a group of more than 40 students from a private high school in Abu Dhabi, many of whom came from middle- and upper-income families.

By the end of the trip, the group was most excited not by Shanghai’s tourist attractions but by robotics showrooms, real-world AI applications and the digital infrastructure visible throughout China’s cities.