Tourism Australia, Alipay partner on new geotargeted Sydney City mobile app

Pair join forces to target Chinese tourists with a new Sydney City Card promoting local destinations and providing a mobile-based payments option

Tourism Australia and mobile payment platform, Alipay, have joined forces on a new pilot program aimed at promoting several of Sydney’s iconic destinations and hotspots to Chinese tourists.

The new Sydney City Card is based around an interactive mobile app featuring a host of Sydney hotspots on the tourist trail including The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Sydney Fish Market, Chinatown and Sydney Aquarium. Built on the Alipay app payments platform, it will use geo-targeted promotions to highlight sights to Chinese tourists, as well as allow them to pay for entry and experiences.

The pilot is running for 12 months and was launched just in time for the Chinese New Year, a week-long holiday in February that is expected to see 7 million Chinese travel to overseas destinations, including popular favourite, Australia. The 1.4 million Chinese visitors who came to Australia in the year to November represented 27 per cent of total tourism spend from international visitors nationally.

According to a recent survey conducted by Nielsen, 99 per cent of Chinese tourists were found to have the Alipay app already instead on their mobile phones and that more than 90 per cent would use mobile payments if offered while travelling overseas. More than 100 retailers are accepting Alipay, including BridgeClimb Sydney and Captain Cook Cruises, who are also involved in the program.  


Sydney’s not the only location to be trialling such an initiative – Alipay’s Sydney location-based offering is running at the same time as a similar pilot in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Tourism Australia MD, John O’Sullivan, said Lunar New Year has become an increasingly important time for Australian tourism, and that high-value travellers are looking to use the holiday break as an opportunity to travel overseas.

“We know the huge importance Chinese travellers attach to Alipay as a preferred and trusted mobile payment system, and I have every confident that the added value they’ll receive from the new Sydney City Card will prove hugely popular, by making the on-the-ground holiday experience easier and more engaging.”

“The Sydney City Card pilot is an innovative approach to engaging with our largest tourist market and provides Australia with a critical advantage over other regional tourist hotspots during this peak annual travel period,” said Alipay A/NZ country manager, George Lawson.

“Chinese tourists will be able to access recommendations on what to see, where to shop and how to get around, all within an app they are familiar with and while being offered their preferred payment method. Providing this tailored and convenient customer experience is critical to maintaining and enhancing Australia’s reputation as a leading international tourist destination for Chinese travellers.”

The Sydney City Card is built into the Alipay app, so not opt-in is required.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+: google.com/+CmoAu   

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in