The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Alipay have announced an expanded partnership to launch the ‘Amazing Thailand, A Must-visit Destination This Summer Holiday’ marketing campaign. The collaboration aims to enhance the travel experience for tourists from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea by offering seamless mobile wallet payments through Alipay+.
Tanes Petsuwan, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Asia and the South Pacific, expressed his enthusiasm about the extended partnership, stating that it would facilitate a smoother consumer experience for Chinese tourists visiting Thailand. He added that it would provide Thai businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with resources to develop their digital operations and marketing capabilities.
According to Tanes, platforms such as Alipay are increasingly crucial for destination markets like Thailand, as they heavily influence travelers’ decisions regarding airlines, hotels, and destination choices. He emphasized the significance of this collaboration, recognizing the potential for growth trends in the Chinese market, with over 1.4 million Chinese tourists having already visited Thailand in the first half of 2023.
As travel resumes, Alipay plans to launch a series of campaigns in the summer of 2023 in collaboration with regional partners, including TAT. These campaigns will offer various promotions on travel-related services such as shopping, attractions and transportation.
Since its introduction in 2015, Alipay has connected Chinese travelers with 550,000 local traders throughout Thailand. The kingdom is ranked among the top four outbound travel destinations in terms of total transaction volume on the Alipay platform. The company already collaborates with several payment platforms in Thailand, including TrueMoney, Kasikornbank and Krungthai Card (KTC), and there are plans to include PromptPay in the near future. (NNT)
