Strengthening relationships between China and SA through tourism
TO CEMENT trade ties, boost investment flows and encourage tourism between South Africa and China, Standard Bank and the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have launched the I Go South Africa loyalty programme in partnership with SA Tourism.
This initiative, part of ICBC’s I Go Global rewards scheme for its card holders in China, was unveiled in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
It would capitalise on the growing appetite among Chinese travellers to visit South Africa by offering a range of discounts and special offers from South African merchants across the travel, hospitality and lifestyle sectors, said Standard Bank’s group head of card and emerging payments across Africa in personal and business banking, Lincoln Mali.
“ICBC is the biggest bank in the world, with approximately 139 million credit cards and as many debit card customers,” said Mali, explaining the rationale behind the new loyalty programme, which was designed by Standard Bank in partnership with the Chinese financial institution.
“Similarly, Standard Bank is the biggest bank in Africa, making this a perfect partnership.
“Tourism from China has increased drastically over the past few years, and we expect more than 100 000 Chinese tourists in South Africa next year, with an average transaction value of R18 500 each. This spells good news for the South African economy and for Standard Bank’s thousands of merchants.”
Wang Dufu, general manager of the ICBC banking card department, said that to further improve the internationalisation strategy of ICBC, they were constantly increasing and extending their primary product line abroad.
The I Go South Africa campaign combines both China and South Africa advantages as ICBC credit card holders can enjoy convenient, comfortable and cost-effective shopping, travelling and leisure experience.
At the same time, the I Go China campaign attracts Standard Bank cardholders to enjoy the tourist and shopping experience in China.
Wang Dufu said that both campaigns increased the partnership and economic co-operation between China and South Africa, thus improving the countries’ cultural relations, firstly connecting as friends and then becoming family.
Welcoming the I Go South Africa initiative, Tourism Minister Tokozile Xasa said: “This partnership represents a dynamic meeting of our two countries’ banking and business sectors, with the close involvement of the public sector too. In so doing, it perfectly illustrates how, in the spirit of our #WeDoTourism movement, tourism truly cuts across different industries and sectors, and affects each and every one of us.”
Saying that tourism holds immense potential for growing the country’s economy inclusively, Xasa noted that the benefits and new avenues opened up by tourism were vast and far-reaching.
She hailed the I Go South Africa private-public partnership and said that “tourism growth from China will help us in our ongoing drive to create new, sustainable jobs in the tourism value chain”.
I Go South Africa offers a number of benefits specifically for ICBC cardholders travelling to South Africa for leisure.
These include up to 21% “cash back” on certain transactions; free wi-fi; card protection insurance; accommodation deals with a premium hotel and restaurant group; and discounted return flights from Hong Kong to South Africa, among many other incentives.
“In many cases, Chinese investment and trade has played an integral part in encouraging economic and infrastructure development in Africa, and in growing trade and investment flows between China and the continent,” said Mali.
“The partnership between Standard Bank and the ICBC has contributed to moving various African countries forward for many years.”