Singapore Tourism Board and Alipay join forces

The Singapore Tourism Board (ATB) and China’s third-party payment solution Alipay have teamed up to launch joint marketing initiatives to raise Singapore’s profile as a tourist destination and boost Chinese spending.

STB and Alipay signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September last year to improve the experience of Chinese travelers in Singapore. The MoU was initiated at a time when China was recorded as the biggest tourist market in Singapore, contributing S$4.2 billion in tourism receipts and 3.2 million visitor arrivals just last year alone.

Some of the initiatives include “activities” to incentivise Alipay users in Singapore through rewards and discounts and to help diversify spending across all types of tourism businesses – retail, food and beverage, and entertainment.

On top of that, the two parties will create new itineraries in line with STB’s "Passion Made Possible" campaign which highlights unique experiences and individuals in Singapore. The partnership will also help STB study Chinese consumer behaviour and spending trends.

“According to research released by Nielsen last year, [Singapore] is one of Chinese tourists’ top ten preferred travel destinations in the world,” said Cherry Huang, general manager, cross-border business for South and Southeast Asia, Alipay.

“We are excited to connect more merchants in Singapore with Chinese tourists and be discovered by them through the app.”

According to the recent Nielsen report quoted by Huang, 65% of Chinese tourists used mobile payment platforms during their overseas travels, more than six times in comparison to non-Chinese tourists. Over 90% of Chinese tourists would consider using mobile payments when traveling overseas if more overseas merchants accepted them.