The number of visits from China to Abu Dhabi reached 242,000 from January to August, making China the largest source of tourists in the city, Abu Dhabi's tourism department said Thursday.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, director of Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism, said that in the first eight months the number of visits by Chinese tourists to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, increased by 68 percent year on year.

Ghobash revealed the figures in Shanghai at "Abu Dhabi Week in China," the first promotional activity between the city and China.

Leisure and business trips from China to Abu Dhabi have soared since visa policies were eased at the beginning of the year. The government of Abu Dhabi said that the city is expected to welcome around 600,000 visits from China in 2021.

To attract more Chinese visitors and meet their demands, many tourist attractions in the city have been improving their services, such as providing Chinese-speaking tour guides and promoting China UnionPay, the country's largest bank card payment processor.