Sentosa Singapore launches cashless initiative to entice Chinese tourists

Online payment platform, Alipay has launched its payment solutions across 70% of the island’s merchants to cater to Sentosa’s Chinese tourists. 

The new cashless initiative is a joint collaboration between Alibaba-owned Alipay, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enhance guest experiences and enable seamless access to the tourist hot-spot’s attractions, food and beverage (F&B), and retail outlets for Chinese visitors.

The Alipay payment service which is popular among Chinese users is entering Sentosa at a time when China is growing in importance as a key source market for Singapore.

Chinese tourists spent $2 billion and made up 1.7 million of Singapore’s visitor arrivals in 2018.

Commenting on the initiative, SDC Chief Marketing Officer, Lynette Ang stated “with 19 million locals and tourists visiting Sentosa annually, technology is a key enabler in our efforts to create seamless experiences for today’s digitally savvy and connected guests.

“The rollout of Alipay’s cashless payment solutions in Sentosa is one fitting illustration of how we constantly collaborate with various partners on technological innovations to make our guests’ stay fun and enjoyable. Through these efforts, we look forward to welcoming even more guests to Sentosa's unique leisure experiences.”

In addition, there will also be a marketing campaign called ‘Smart Sentosa’ to drive consumer awareness of and participation in the initiative that runs until March 2019. The campaign is timed to coincide with key travel periods for Chinese visitors such as the Lunar New Year in February.

According to Nielsen and Alipay's Outbound Chinese Tourism and Consumption Trends: 2017 survey, over 90% of Chinese tourists would use mobile payment overseas if given the option.

Lower image shows AJ Hackett Singapore Sentosa Island.