Alipay launched payment solutions to cater to Sentosa's Chinese tourists

The new cashless initiative is a joint collaboration between Alipay, Sentosa and the Singapore Tourism Board.

Online payment platform Alipay is catering to Sentosa’s Chinese tourists with the launch of its payment solutions across 70% of the island’s merchants, an announcement revealed.

The move is part of its joint effort with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) to enhance guest experiences and enable seamless access to the tourist hot-spot’s attractions, food and beverage (F&B), and retail outlets for Chinese visitors.

“The Alipay payment service which is popular amongst Chinese users is entering Sentosa at a time when China is growing in importance as a key source market for Singapore,” the parties said in a joint statement, highlighting how Chinese nationals made up 1.7 million of Singapore’s visitor arrivals and $2b of tourism receipts in 2018.

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In conjunction with Alipay’s launch, the three parties will run a market campaign dubbed ‘Smart Sentosa’ until March 2019 to raise awareness of the initiative. The campaign is said to comprise of timely promotions based on key travel periods such as the Lunar New Year, on top of exclusive rates for Sentosa Islander membership.

Singapore was ranked as one of the most popular destinations outside of mainland China for Chinese tourists to visit, according to a Nielsen report. Specifically, Sentosa is considered as a favourite attraction for Chinese visitors and business delegates who travel to the Lion City, the announcement highlighted.

“With 19 million locals and tourists visiting Sentosa annually, technology is a key enabler in our efforts to create seamless experiences for today’s digitally savvy and connected guests,” SDC’s chief marketing officer Lynette Ang said in a statement. “Through these efforts, we look forward to welcoming even more guests to Sentosa’s unique leisure experiences.”