Alipay, the biggest online payment system of China, announced that Japan was No.1 country for Chinese travelers (except Hong Kong Macao and Taiwan) to pay with Alipay in the National Day holiday period (October 1 to 7 2019), increasing the number of transactions by 124% compared to a year earlier.
The growth rate was much higher the world average increase of 10%. Consumption with Alipay was also up 15% on a year-on-year basis. Alipay was more used by Chinese travelers in major convenience store chains, Matsumoto Kiyoshi drug stores and Kansai International Airport.
Globally, the number of transactions skyrocketed particularly in Europe or Southeast Asia because of large increases in Alipay member shops in the last 12 months. Cambodia and Philippines were among top 10 countries for the first time, and the growth rate in Portugal reached 64 times.
Demographically, Alipay users who were born after 2000 increased by 130%, and also those who were born before 1960s by 30%.
In addition, Fliggy, an Alibaba Group’s travel booking platform, announced that bookings of travel package products considerably increased for niche destinations in the National Day holiday period, like 14 times for Montenegro, 4.7 times for Uzbekistan or 1.8 times for Serbia.
Also, sales of railway tickets in Europe were up 35%, and sales of package tours for ‘Durian Experience’ up 60%. Based on the results, Fliggy said that Chinese travelers tend to seek unique local experiences more than before.
The most Chinese travelers to Japan came from Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang Province.
