Chinese consumer spending on tourism rebounds on Alipay+ during CNY

Chinese consumer spending on outbound and inbound tourism has seen a rebound in Alipay+ and Alipay merchant networks during Chinese New Year break, especially in cross-border tourism.

In the CNY holiday week between 9 February and 12 February, the number of transactions made by Alipay users overseas surpassed that of 2019 by 7% while consumer spending recovered to 82% of the 2019 level, or 2.4 times of 2023, according to Ant Group.

This comes after a global campaign has been in full swing on the Alipay+ merchant network since December 2023 to attract Chinese tourists. Through the Alipay+ cross-border mobile payment technology solutions, Chinese travellers may pay for goods, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment at over 8 million merchants in over 70 countries and regions, all from the app Alipay.

Closer socio-economic connections between Hong Kong, Macao and the Mainland, the new visa-free policies from major Southeast Asia destinations and recovering international flight capacities are key drivers of the cross-border travel boom.

While traditional Asia favourites keep their enthusiastic following, more distant destinations in Europe, ANZ, the Middle East and North America are also picking up in Chinese traveller spending.

In terms of the top destinations for Chinese travellers by Alipay spending, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, France, Australia and Canada top the list.

Meanwhile, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore combined saw a 7.5% increase over 2019, and a 580% leap over 2023, with Thailand leading in total volume and Malaysia showing the largest increase.

Besides a larger physical parameter, Chinese tourists are also expanding their interest from traditional activities such as shopping and tourism spots-hopping, to more immersive and unique local experiences. Globally in the CNY week, Chinese tourists spent 70% more on food and beverage than in 2019, venturing from downtown hotspots to out-of-the-way local treasures.

In-town transportation volume grew fast thanks to the passion for "travel local". Alipay users in multiple destinations now may choose from rail, taxi, rideshare, car rental, bus, subway and even scooter-share when abroad, all from the familiar app on their own phone.

On Alipay's home front, 2024 is also the first time AI features prominently adopted in online holiday celebrations nationwide. AI features in the app drew 600 million user interactions during Alipay's signature annual Five Fortune campaign. Over 12 million Alipay users created personalised digital red packets using AI voice and video generation technology on the Alipay platform.

With new partnerships in 2023 and increased travel, total cross-border spending on the region's leading e-wallets powered by Alipay+ increased by 252% year-on-year. Daily average transactions increased by 304%. Japan, South Korea, Macao SAR, Thailand and Singapore are the top 5 most popular destinations for Alipay+ consumers besides the Chinese mainland.

"With its use spreading across age and income groups, increasingly mobile payment is becoming an important promoter of local and cross-border commerce in Asia and beyond, " said Douglas Feagin, senior vice president of Ant Group and head of Alipay+. "We expect to grow our partnerships with the payment industry leaders, national tourist agencies and merchants in 2024 to generate more growth."

Related articles:

TH, SG and MY in top 10 list of Alipay's overseas transaction during Golden Week
ComfortDelGro ties up with Alipay+ to accept mobile payments from MY and Korea