Destinations known | How Chinese tourists and mobile payments are changing the way we travel
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Virtual riches
In 2017, Chinese travellers made more than 130 million outbound trips and spent an estimated US$115 billion while on them, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, Asia’s largest online travel agent – facts that have not been lost on tourism industries anywhere.
Even as popular destinations are struggling to cope with an increasing influx of visitors, others are clamouring to cash in on the purchasing power of China’s big spenders, implementing mobile payment technologies such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, which have become ubiquitous in the mainland’s increasingly cashless society.
According to a white paper issued recently by data research firm Nielsen and Alipay, more than 90 per cent of Chinese tourists sampled said they would use mobile payment overseas if given the opportunity. Companies in countries across the globe are falling over themselves to acquiesce.
From taxis in Australia and pharmacies in Germany (where milk powder is a hot ticket) to vendors in London’s Camden Market and Las Vegas casinos, Alipay and WeChat Pay points can now be found in many of the places frequented by Chinese tourists.