The National Day holiday in China is the last holiday of the year and the longest one with 7 days starting on 1 October. China Railway is about to receive 110 million person trips during this year’s National Day holiday, an increase of 11.3% compared with 2015.
This short video, shot today (National Day) at Great Wall of China, illustrates how crowded it could be during holidays in China pic.twitter.com/4hY8Sqf84q
— China Internet Watch (@ChinaInternet) October 3, 2016
It’s peak season for the tourism industry. People travel, domestic or abroad. Among outbound travelers, the most popular destinations remain Thailand, South Korea, and Japan.
The number of person trips totaled 2.236 billion in the first half of 2016 with an increase of 10.5% YoY according to China’s National Tourism Administration. Safety, sightseeing, dining, visa, and currency are top factors when Chinese outbound travelers choose the destination.
Read more: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/18860/chinese-intl-traveler-2016/#ixzz4Ld1Uhtw8
Alipay launched Global Future Airports Program this week, aiming to provide not only payment solutions but also convenient services for travelers. From this Saturday, the National Day, the cooperating airports will be opened to Alipay users including:
- Munich Airport
- Tokyo Narita International Airport
- Singapore Changi International Airport
- Osaka Kansai International Airport
- Seoul Incheon International Airport
- Auckland International Airport
- Bangkok International Airport
- Hong Kong International Airport
- Taoyuan International Airport
- Macau International Airport
Alipay has been making efforts for overseas markets in recent years; and, as of August 2016, Alipay is available at over 80,000 retail stores outside China.
WeChat Payment is offering cash rebate (in the form of Hongbao, red envelope) if outbound travelers use WeChat Payment in cooperating oversea retail stores.
With the growing number of the middle class, China’s outbound travel spend will be near twice the amount of the U.S. ($134 billion), reaching $255.4 billion by 2025 according to a joint survey by Visa and Oxford Economics.
Continue reading: China outbound tourism market overview 2016