Cross-border mobile payment solution Alipay+ has outlined three key trends that are shaping the present and future of tourism, with payments playing an integral role.
The Ant International company has placed significant focus on providing seamless and efficient e-wallets to travellers and tourists, recently integrating 15 providers in Europe last September.
The three key trends Alipay+ highlighted range from preferred payments in localised markets, to customers preferring a single platform for ease-of-use for a true unified payments experience.
1. Travellers prefer their home payment methods to the benefits of merchants abroad
Alipay+ enables travellers to use their familiar home payment app when going abroad. With expanding merchant coverage and a strong travel recovery, Alipay+ has seen a surge in transactions globally. By using Alipay+, cross-border travellers experience a new country or market and pay like a local.
Alipay for Chinese consumers – an Alipay+ partner – has been accepted by global merchants starting from 2015, and continues to see steady growth in global transactions.
Alipay+’s mobile payment partners from around the world have also seen significant growth. In the first nine months of 2024, the number of people using an Alipay+ payment partner apps while abroad increased by three times, and the number of transactions increased by more than three times.
As of October 2024, Alipay+ has more than 30 payment partners, including leading e-wallets and bank apps from Asia and beyond, with 1.6 billion consumers, connecting consumers to more than 90 million merchants in 66 markets.
To allow more businesses to benefit from tourism, Alipay+ is continually expanding its merchant coverage, through initiatives such as the national QR schemes that enable inclusive growth at scale, particularly for SMEs. For example, through PayNet’s DuitNow QR in Malaysia, Alipay+ has seen transactions increase on average by 142% per quarter in the first nine months in 2024. This ease of transaction allows travellers to visit smaller cities, driving significant growth in areas like Kota Kinabalu, Selangor and Penang.
Travellers are also using their payment apps online for pre-trip bookings. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) that accept Alipay+ payment partners have seen transactions increase by two times over the same period. Other than through OTAs, Alipay+ is also accepted on other travel platforms including by airlines, such as Thai Airways, Malaysian Airlines and AirAsia, hotels, attraction sites and more.
2. Travellers spend more, with a shift toward localised experiences
Alipay+ payment partners include payment apps from across Asia, such as Alipay (Chinese mainland), AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR), Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia), GCash (the Philippines), KakaoPay, Toss Pay and Naver Pay (South Korea), OCBC (Singapore), TrueMoney (Thailand) and more.
Asian travellers are visiting more regional destinations, with the highest number of Alipay+ transactions recorded in the Chinese mainland, Japan, Thailand, Macao SAR and South Korea.
Travel spending habits have also shifted since the Covid pandemic. While travellers are spending more overall, they are spending less on shopping and more on localised experiences. Spending via Alipay+ increasing by 80% on food and beverage merchants and 50% for attractions.
Spending via Alipay+ on transportation such as ride-hailing, taxis and trains have increased by 120%, in line with recent trends to explore destinations more independently.
3. All-in-one payment apps are reshaping travel habits
All-in-one payment apps offering additional services beyond payments have quickly become the go-to technology for Asian travellers. For example, TrueMoney saw its transaction volume through Alipay+ increase over tenfold since launch.
While Asia is the leader in mobile payments, there is also a growing trend for mobile solutions in other regions as seen by the emergence of e-wallets like Tinaba in Italy and interoperable solutions like Bluecode across Europe.
Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, commented: “Tourism’s importance to economic growth makes it essential for the industry to pursue innovation and new partnerships so that more people can benefit.
“Our Alipay+ solution has evolved to include cross-border payments, destination marketing and digital lifestyle services, and we have seen significant adoption as more consumers embrace technology to enhance their travel experience.
“We believe in a collaborative open approach and will work closely with partners across the industry towards a new future of travel.”
