Millions of Chinese tourists travel around the world during the summer months and their propensity to shop and spend make them an attractive travel segment. This year Russia and European destinations were some of the hotspots for online and mobile payments.
Russia witnessed over 50 times growth in Alipay transactions this summer – compared to a year ago – and this was boosted by the World Cup. Luxembourg (39 times growth) and Switzerland (18 times growth) also featured high on the list.
Hong Kong, a popular shopping destination for Chinese tourists, bagged the top spot for the biggest Alipay transaction volume for July and August, going past Thailand, which topped the charts last year. Thailand came second this year, followed by South Korea.
In France, the average Chinese tourist spent 11,386 Yuan with Alipay, almost four times than the average. Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders globally, with outbound travellers spending US$258 billion in 2017, accounting for one-fifth of the world’s total spending on tourism, according to the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
Online payments platforms allow Chinese tourists to pay for their overseas shopping directly within the Alipay and WeChat apps; it also allows them to settle the payment in Yuan instead of having to use credit cards, which typically incur foreign transaction fees.
Tags: Chinese tourists
