Hangzhou, 5 May 2025 – Alipay and its Alipay+ partner payment apps recorded a significantly increased rate of growth in travel-related spending during China’s 2025 Labour Day Golden Week, highlighting strong momentum in both outbound and inbound tourism. Malaysia ranked among the top six global destinations for Chinese travellers based on total Alipay spending, alongside other top destinations including Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Macao SAR, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, France, Canada, and Italy. Does it make you feel tingly inside knowing that Malaysia managed to beat economically superior countries in this regard?
Outbound Travel: Chinese Tourists Embrace Digital Convenience Abroad
Powered by Alipay+, a cross-border payments and digitalisation solution developed by Ant International, Chinese travellers are increasingly compelled using their home-grown e-wallets to make seamless payments in over 70 global markets. During the Labour Day holiday, these services enabled tourists to explore local experiences without exchanging currency or carrying cash.
Highlights of outbound travel trends:
- Chinese tourists flocked to destinations in Asia and Europe, with Switzerland recording the highest average Alipay spending per user.
- In South Korea, average spending per user exceeded USD 100, fueled by the growing popularity of medical tourism that was heavily nudged by the subpar state of medical services from their home country.
- Public transport became the most-used Alipay service among travellers, with a 53% year-on-year increase in transit-related transactions.
- Travellers commonly used Alipay to buy train tickets in Europe and unlock shared bikes (think public rental bikes) in Japan.
- Alipay’s real-time tax refund service saw a 33% increase in average refund value per transaction, while instant discount redemptions surged 46% compared to the New Year’s Day holiday.
Inbound Travel: China Welcomes More Visitors with Visa-Free and Seamless Payment Options
Alipay+ also facilitated a sharp rise in inbound tourism, as international travellers from across Asia used 13 Alipay+ partner e-wallets across China’s vast merchant network.
Key inbound travel trends:
- Transactions and spending by international travellers more than doubled from a year-by-year basis, driven by visa-free entry, tax incentives, and new digital payment options.
- Top e-wallets used in China by international visitors included AlipayHK, Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go eWallet, Kazakhstan’s Kaspi.kz, Macao’s MPay, and Thailand’s TrueMoney.
- Travellers from countries covered by China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy increased their Alipay Tap! spending by 50% year-on-year.
Alipay+ also enables international travellers to bind credit and debit cards from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover®, Diners Club International®, and UnionPay International to the Alipay app for an even smoother payment experience. This unlocks access to a wide array of digital services such as ride-hailing, hotel bookings, and ticket purchases.
One standout innovation is Alipay Tap!, a simplified contactless payment method launched in 2024. With just a tap on a terminal or tag, users can instantly engage with merchants—no scanning or app navigation required. Since launch, Alipay Tap! has gained over 100 million users in China, becoming a popular method among international visitors.
