Alipay reported that the average spending of outbound Chinese travelers during China’s National Day holiday 2023 — from 29 September to 6 October — has surpassed the level in 2019.
Shopping continues to be one of the most beloved activities among Chinese tourists when they travel abroad. During the period, the highest expenditure via Alipay was on purchasing goods, including skincare products and duty-free goods, surpassing spending on all other activities. Food and beverages, as well as accommodation, ranked as the second and third largest spending categories, respectively.
During the first five days of the Holiday, currency exchange, Coupon Hub, tax refund, and transportation were the most used services by Alipay users.
A recent survey on Chinese outbound tourism found that Chinese travelers of all ages embrace digital technology in travel planning and prefer mobile payments, with an overwhelming 84% expecting to use mobile payments, such as Alipay. Chinese consumers prefer mobile payments for their transparent and favorable exchange rates (60%), discounts and other value-added services offered (60%), expense tracking facilitation (56%), and safety and convenience over cash (55%).
Chinese travelers also prefer personalized services such as Chinese-language shopping guides (83%) and exclusive offers.
The most popular destinations based on total spending via Alipay remained largely consistent with the previous major holidays this year. Geographically close Asian destinations, including Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Malaysia, and European
countries, such as France and Italy, continued to dominate the list. However, there was a notable increase in Chinese tourist spending via Alipay in less-explored destinations like Estonia and Qatar compared to the same period in 2019,
indicating a shift in travel preferences.
From September 23 to October 3, the number of daily transactions by inbound visitors to China using the 10 Alipay+ partner e-wallets (AlipayHK, mPay, Hipay, OCBC, Changi Pay, Touch ‘n Go eWallet, TrueMoney, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and
Toss Pay) increased by as much as 200%.
