Data from Alipay and other Alipay+ partner payment apps indicates a notable increase in both outbound and inbound tourism spending in China during the 2025 Labour Day holiday (Golden Week).
Outbound Travel: Chinese tourists explore local experiences through digital platforms in overseas destinations
Through Alipay+, a unified wallet gateway with cross-border payment and digitisation services developed by Ant International, users of 36 e-wallets in Asia and Europe—including Chinese travellers—can use their own home payment apps across over 70 markets without the need to exchange currency or carry cash. During China’s Labour Day holiday, global Alipay+ merchants have joined Alipay in an exclusive campaign to lure travellers.
The top destinations for Chinese travellers, based on total Alipay spending, are Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Macao SAR, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Canada, and Italy.
Thanks to Alipay+’s 100 million-strong and diverse global merchant network, Chinese tourists are increasingly seeking more personalised, local experiences. Switzerland recorded the highest average Alipay spending per user, while in South Korea, average spending exceeded USD 100—driven in part by the growing trend of traveling for cosmetic surgery. In addition, the growing desire for immersive local travel experiences is driving increased use of local transportation, with Alipay transactions rising 53% year-over-year. Public transit has become the most frequently used Alipay service among travellers. Taking buses and subways with Alipay is especially popular in Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR, where travellers are already familiar with using it for daily commutes. Other emerging trends include buying train tickets in Europe and unlocking shared bikes in Japan with Alipay.
Furthermore, Alipay’s real-time tax refund service saw a 33% year-on-year increase in the refund value per transaction, while the number of claims for Alipay’s instant discount offer increased by 46% compared to the New Year’s Day holiday.
Inbound Travel: Visa-free entry, updated tax refund policies, and new payment options attract international travellers
Since September 2023, the Alipay+ solutions have supported 13 leading payment apps in Asia to serve their roaming users across Alipay’s extensive merchant network in China.
Thanks to China’s updated tax refund and visa-free policies, more international travellers are heading to the country. During the Labour Day holiday, both the number of transactions and the total spending by travellers using the 13 overseas e-wallets rose by over 100% year-on-year. AlipayHK topped the list for total spending, followed by Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go e-Wallet, Kazakhstan’s Kaspi.kz, Macao SAR’s MPay, and Thailand’s TrueMoney.
With Alipay+, international travellers may also bind their Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover®, Diners Club International®, and UnionPay International credit or debit cards to Alipay for a seamless travel experience in China. This enables smooth payments and access to a wide range of digital services on the Alipay platform, including ride-hailing, hotel bookings, and plane or train ticket purchases.
Alipay Tap!—a contactless payment and customer engagement solution introduced by Alipay in China in June 2024—has also quickly become a preferred payment method among international travellers to China. The solution is essentially a simplified QR-code method that enables users to access services hosted on Alipay simply by tapping a merchant’s terminal or an Alipay Tap! Tag, without needing to open an app, scan a code, or navigate multiple screens. As of April 2025, Alipay Tap! had attracted over 100 million users in China within just 11 months of launch. During the Labour Day holiday, travellers from the 54 countries covered by China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy spent 50% more via Alipay Tap! compared to the same period in April.