N.B. Is Adding Chinese Mobile Payment Platforms So Tourists Can Carry Less Cash
MONCTON – In an effort to make the province more appealing to Chinese tourists, the government will support the introduction of Chinese mobile payment platforms Alipay and WeChat Pay at tourism attractions.
The move was championed by the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) and Motion Pay, a company that provides Canadian businesses access to mobile payment platforms. The two have partnered to distribute Motion Pay’s machines to allow payments made through Alipay and WeChat Pay at New Brunswick tourist sites.
“In our partnership, TIANB will be the distributor for Motion Pay in New Brunswick, and now we’re building a campaign to let people know that,” said TIANB president Ronald Drisdelle in an interview with Huddle.
“It’s like a new product in New Brunswick that we’re going to be selling to operators. Before, the Chinese were forced to come to Canada with cash. Now with the machines, they can do transactions here in Canada like they’re used to in China.
Drisdelle said this is an opportunity to attract Chinese travellers to the province.
“The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is forecasting 10 million [Chinese] visitors over the next two years. If New Brunswick could just attract one per cent of that, that would be fabulous for New Brunswick. And our announcement this morning is a step towards preparing to receive our visitors.”
China is currently the second-largest overseas market for tourists coming to Canada – the U.S. being the largest. Between January and October of last year, over 600,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada, 10 per cent more than the previous year. Drisdelle said they generally come through tour groups, many likely heard of New Brunswick through promotions by Destination Canada, a federal agency that markets Canada internationally.
“In terms of activities, they like Canada for its image of great expanses, and rich history and culture and great art. But they also take in the outfitters programs like fishing and hunting, and we have companies in New Brunswick that do organize that type of tours for Chinese visitors.”
Alipay and WeChat Pay are China’s most prominent mobile payment platforms. The government hopes their introduction to New Brunswick will allow tourism operators to better attract and accommodate the growing Chinese travel market.
“We have been working hard to promote New Brunswick to the Chinese leisure travel market and are proud to be part of an initiative that will advance New Brunswick as a prospective destination for the growing Chinese travel market in Canada,” Finance Minister Cathy Rogers said in a release.
“Alipay and WeChat align with our government’s multi-year economic growth plan to leverage technology, products and innovation in order to grow tourism in the province,” she said on behalf of Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister John Ames.
Motion Pay’s Executive Director Eric Paquet said in the release the move would help attract tourists to New Brunswick.
“Motion Pay’s mobile payment solution provides a seamless payment experience to Chinese tourists,” he said. “By partnering with the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick, Motion Pay is confident this will help to drive more traveller traffic among New Brunswick’s tourism businesses.”
Alipay and WeChat Pay will be available at a number of attractions in New Brunswick in 2018, which has been designated as the Canada-China Year of Tourism.
The New Brunswick Tourism Growth Strategy plans to invest $100 million in tourism over the next eight years, aiming to boost tourism-related GDP to $2 billion by 2025. Tourism is the third-largest service sector in the province, with tourists spending an estimated $1.3 billion.