Queensland's inbound tourism industry boosted with Alipay

Queensland’s inbound tourism industry has been boosted by a major partnership with Chinese online payment platform Alipay. 

Earlier this month, Alipay named Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) as its Partner of the Year in the Australia-New Zealand region. 

Jackie Trad, deputy premier of Queensland State, was in Shanghai on Tuesday for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Alipay and TEQ, and said the partnership would help Queensland become the most payment-friendly Australian state for Chinese visitors.

Queensland businesses which are Alipay-ready include Cairns Aquarium, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and iFly Gold Coast. 

The relationship with Queensland has led Alipay to list TEQ as one of its top 20 global marketing partners in Australia and one of just 200 worldwide. 

“We know from our research that Chinese visitors prefer to use mobile payment systems such as Alipay, and our work in this space is making Queensland a more attractive destination for Chinese travelers,” Trad said.

According to Alipay’s Country Manager in Australia and New Zealand George Lawson, Alipay has more than 1.2 billion users worldwide.