Tourism board partners Alipay to enhance China tourists' experience in Singapore

A MEMORANDUM of understanding (MOU) was signed by Chinese online and mobile payment platform Alipay and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to "enhance Chinese tourists' overall experience in Singapore", according to a joint statement.

Under the MOU, Alipay and the STB will cross-share relevant content about Singapore on Alipay's platforms and STB's Tourism Information and Services Hub, a B2B platform which allows businesses to contribute and access up-to-date information and travel services.

This aims to increase exposure of Singapore's offerings from various tourism businesses and provide Chinese tourists better information access before and during their trips to Singapore.

Alipay and the STB will also share data and analytics on trends in Chinese travel to Singapore with tourism industry stakeholders in Singapore. This will help the industry "better understand and target Chinese consumers with more relevant products and experiences", said the statement.

In addition, both parties will "explore co-investment in joint-marketing initiatives to market destination Singapore and Alipay merchants with the objective of increasing visit spend via Alipay platforms".

Quek Choon Yang, chief technology officer of the STB, said: "This collaboration forms part of our overall strategy to better engage our visitors through digital channels. With a like-minded partner such as Alipay, we will be able to better understand our Chinese visitors' needs."

China contributed the largest share of tourism receipts and the second-largest share of visitor arrivals to Singapore last year.