Thailand among Alipay’s top ‘Golden Week’ markets

Thailand ranked second globally in terms of transactions using Alipay during “Golden Week” this year, reflecting the popularity of the mobile payment provider among Chinese tourists here.

Alipay, the world’s largest mobile payment and lifestyle platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, announced yesterday a summary of overseas transactions by mainland Chinese during Golden Week, Oct 1-7. Thailand was surpassed only by Japan in transaction volume this year.

Total transaction volume increased by 1.2 times compared with last year’s total. Average spending per user increased by 1.22 times versus yearearlier levels.

Top destinations included the country’s biggest convenience store chains, duty-free stores and shopping malls.

According to Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel service platform, most Chinese tourists visiting Thailand are from Guangdong province, followed by Shanghai and Beijing.

Globally, in-store transaction volume during Golden Week saw a 10% increase from 2018.

Cambodia and the Philippines joined the top 10 list, thanks to more merchants accepting Alipay. The Philippines experienced 26 times the volume of transactions this year than in 2018.

Average total spending per user increased by 15% to about US$350. Average total spending per user was highest in Malta, followed by Monaco and Spain. The UAE and Japan ranked the highest outside of Europe.

Fliggy reported that niche destinations are becoming more popular. Travel packages booked for Montenegro, Uzbekistan and Serbia increased by 14 times, 4.7 times, and 1.8 times, respectively, compared with the same period last year.

Sales of “durian experience” packages in Thailand and Malaysia increased by 60% from last year.

More than 300,000 merchants in 55 countries and regions took part in Alipay’s Golden Week campaign this year.