The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Alipay+ are expanding their partnership to offer a series of new developments aimed at attracting more tourists to Thailand.
To better cater to today’s mobile-savvy travellers, TAT will launch the Alipay+ D-hub and Amazing Thailand e-Card exclusively on Alipay for Chinese tourists and gradually make them available to other Alipay+ payment partners.
The move comes as Thailand continues to be one of the top travel destinations for Chinese tourists. According to TAT, in the first four months of 2024, 2,351,909 tourists from the Chinese mainland travelled to Thailand. During the 2024 Labour Day holiday, data from Alipay, an Alipay+ partner e-wallet, showed that Thailand remains the top destination in Southeast Asia for Chinese tourists. Additionally, transactions made via Alipay increased by 161% compared to 2023, surpassing that of the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
TAT is the first tourism board globally to launch Alipay+ D-hub, a customisable in-app digital platform that will feature essential travel and cultural information, local merchants’ recommendations, and city and province guides of Thai destinations.
Meanwhile, Amazing Thailand e-Card connects local businesses with tourists – helping them engage a new pool of customers, increasing the visibility and awareness of Thailand’s tourism offerings for visitors, and offering a channel for tourists to discover merchants and enjoy exclusive promotions.
At the beginning of 2024, Alipay+ also introduced the Alipay+ D-store in Thailand, an all-in-one store digitalisation platform that allows locals and tourists to simply scan the store’s QR code and order, customise, and pay directly on their mobile devices. Currently, Alipay+ D-store merchants include local and international F&B merchants such as Dairy Queen, Burger King, The Coffee Club and D’Oro, among others.
Mr. Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Asia and the South Pacific, said” “The partnership with Alipay+ plays an important role in attracting tourists and ensuring they enjoy their Thai experience; through such partnerships, TAT is on track to meet 2024 goals.”
He added: “With even more Alipay+ coverage acceptance, the transactions will only grow, especially in smaller cities, stimulating the economy, particularly for SMEs, across Thailand. We’re taking the next step to strengthen our partnership with the new digital innovations for Chinese tourists, the top market for Thailand, and continue to expand these innovations to more tourists in future.”
