Inbound tourist spending through the mobile payment app Alipay surged during the Labour Day holiday in China this year, according to the app’s owner Ant Group, as overseas tourists slowly return to the country after the pandemic.
Spending that international travellers made with Alipay during the Labour Day “golden week” across mainland China jumped 700 per cent year on year, Ant said in a statement on Sunday.
The app benefited from an increased number of international tourists brought in by China’s new visa-free entry policies, the company said.
The number of visitors – from 15 countries across Europe and Southeast Asia included in China’s visa exemption scheme – who used Alipay during the holiday was up fourfold this year, according to Ant.
