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Alipay, STB team up to target Chinese tourists in S’pore

SINGAPORE — Alipay — the mobile payment company owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba — has teamed up with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enhance Chinese tourists’ overall experience in Singapore.

Alipay Global’s marketing and operations head Tony Tai (left) and STB chief technology officer Quek Choon Yang at the MOU signing yesterday. Both organisations will share data on trends in Chinese travel to Singapore with tourism industry stakeholders here, among other initiatives. Photo: Alipay

Alipay Global’s marketing and operations head Tony Tai (left) and STB chief technology officer Quek Choon Yang at the MOU signing yesterday. Both organisations will share data on trends in Chinese travel to Singapore with tourism industry stakeholders here, among other initiatives. Photo: Alipay

SINGAPORE — Alipay — the mobile payment company owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba — has teamed up with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enhance Chinese tourists’ overall experience in Singapore.

Under the agreement signed yesterday, Alipay and STB will share content about Singapore on Alipay’s platforms and STB’s Tourism Information and Services Hub, a business-to-business platform.

The two entities will also share data and analytics on trends in Chinese travel to Singapore with tourism industry stakeholders in Singapore, to help the industry better understand and target Chinese consumers.

In addition, Alipay and STB will explore co-investment in joint-marketing initiatives to encourage Chinese tourists to spend with Alipay while in Singapore.

“Partnering with the Singapore Tourism Board will help us present the best of Singapore to our users. Alipay is dedicated to bringing Chinese visitors and local merchants reliable, convenient and efficient ways of travelling and doing business,” said Mr Tony Tai, head of marketing and operations, Alipay Global.

“With our joint effort on content, data analytics and marketing, we will understand Chinese customers and local merchants better, making visits more enjoyable and businesses more efficient,” he added.

According to the STB’s preliminary estimates, more than 2.8 million Chinese tourists visited Singapore last year. They were the biggest spending visitors, chalking up more than S$3 billion in tourist receipts.

Chinese visitor arrivals to Singapore continue to grow this year, with about 1.9 million recorded from January to July this year, a year-on-year increase of 7 per cent. In particular, visitor arrivals from China’s tier 2 cities, such as Chongqing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Wuhan, grew 15 per cent year-on-year in July.

Mr Quek Choon Yang, chief technology officer of STB, shared, “This collaboration forms part of our overall strategy to better engage our visitors through digital channels. With a like-minded partner such as Alipay, we will be able to better understand our Chinese visitors’ needs.”

“In line with our new destination brand ‘Passion Made Possible’, our Chinese visitors are also encouraged to share and deepen their passions in Singapore easily and conveniently through Alipay’s platforms. This will in turn increase overall visitor satisfaction, increase tourism receipts and drive repeat visits.”

China’s Alipay has been expanding its presence in Singapore. It announced plans last month to launch a local e-wallet for Singapore consumers, following tie-ups with taxi operators Prime Taxis and ComfortDelGro to allow passengers to pay with Alipay.

Alipay has already rolled out its services to more than 20,000 acceptance points here, of which 17,000 are taxis. Working with Singapore-based digital payment solutions provider CCPay, Alipay has signed up about 300 merchants in Chinatown to the payment app which is targeting Chinese nationals living in Singapore, as well as Chinese tourists. Besides merchants in the Chinatown area, Alipay plans to attract merchants in other shopping areas in town and beyond, to the heartlands.

During the National Day Rally in August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted that Singapore trails behind other cities, including those in China, when it comes to electronic payments.

Analysts said Alipay’s expansion in Singapore is very significant, as it is a global market leader with the know-how to roll out electronic payments successfully.

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