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Alipay partners with online travel agencies for China tour packages
5 min read
Alipay, the leading digital payment and lifestyle service platform, has partnered with top online travel agencies, including Trip.com, a global one-stop travel service provider and Tuniu, an integrated leisure travel service provider in China, to launch selected tour packages and travel guide on the Alipay app for international tourists traveling to China.
The first batch of the launch includes a total of 20 packages aimed at helping international tourists navigate their travels in China. The packages include tours with an English-speaking guide at famous tourist attractions such as the Palace Museum and Badaling Great Wall in Beijing, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Jiuzhaigou National Park (Jiuzhai Valley) in Sichuan Province, Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, and Shanghai Disney Resort and the Bund in Shanghai. Some of the attractions offer discount up to 20%.
Alipay and Trip.com also launched a China Travel Guide in the app with comprehensive travel advice in the country. The guide provides detailed information on topics such as pre-travel checklists, visa applications, attractions, hotels, mobile payment, communication, transport, booking services and more.
Cross-border travel, including inbound travel to China, is witnessing a continuous surge globally given the increase in flights and favorable policies. According to Trip.com data, from January to October this year, inbound tour orders increased 125% year-on-year compared to 2022.
Starting from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024, travelers holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia can enjoy visa-free entry to China. They can also stay for up to 15 days for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes.
Jiqiang Wang, vice general manager of digital marketing at Trip.com, said: “With its leading global travel services, Trip.com seeks to collaborate with industry partners like Alipay to continue enhancing the experience of inbound tourists and draw more international travellers to China. Trip.com aims to increase the number of inbound tourists served in 2024 by more than 150% compared with 2019.”
“We are delighted to work with partners across the industry to enhance international tourists’ payment and travel experience in China. As the leading digital wallet in China, Alipay will continue to optimize products and services to better serve international visitors,” said Yaoyao Jin in charge of international travelers’ usage of Alipay. “We also encourage more merchants and service providers operating digitally on Alipay platform to enhance their services for international travelers.”
Together with Trip.com, Alipay also launched the “New Year, New Exploration” campaign on social media, inviting international tourists interested in exploring China to travel like a local using their mobile phone.
Alipay has been continually improving its products and services for international travelers. After downloading the Alipay app, overseas tourists now can sign up and link their international credit or debit card from Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover®, and Diners Club International® to pay at tens of millions of Alipay partner merchants across China, including restaurants, cafes, tourist attractions, shopping malls, street stalls and public transport. It also integrates frequently-used travel services, including hotel booking, air tickets booking, car-hailing, exchange rate checking, and translation.
In addition to using Alipay to pay like a local in China, international tourists from seven countries and regions including Malaysia and Singapore can also use their home e-wallet while traveling around China. These home e-wallets include AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), mPay (Macao SAR, China), Touch ’n Go eWallet (Malaysia), Kakao Pay (South Korea), Hipay (Mongolia), Changi Pay (Singapore), OCBC (Singapore), Naver Pay (South Korea), Toss Pay (South Korea) and TrueMoney (Thailand).
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
