SHANGHAI, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With China's first four-day May Day holiday approaching, its outbound tourism market continues to heat up. According to the statistics from several OTAs in China, about 60% of Chinese tourists will travel abroad during the holiday, and their destinations are increasingly diversified.

So far, tourists can use UnionPay cards conveniently in 174 countries and regions. And since the beginning of this year, it is increasingly easy to use UnionPay cards in Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Recently, UnionPay International has teamed up with tens of thousands of well-known merchants in 40 countries and regions outside mainland China to provide special discounts of up to 20% for UnionPay cardholders. Among these participating merchants, over 10,000 will provide discounts for customers who pay with UnionPay mobile payment products.

UnionPay continues to enhance its service capacity

To date, UnionPay payment is available at over 26 million merchants outside mainland China, covering almost all popular tourist destinations. And UnionPay cards are accepted in an increasing number of sectors. In Europe, for instance, over 90% of countries and regions have already accepted UnionPay cards. In the first quarter of 2019, a large number of F&B merchants, hotels and supermarket in the Baltic countries, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have started accepting UnionPay cards; which will drive the overall acceptance rate of UnionPay in these countries to 50%. In Northern Europe, UnionPay has recently achieved 100% acceptance in Denmark, while in Sweden and Finland over half of the local merchants accept UnionPay cards.

With the user number of the UnionPay app exceeding 150 million, an increasing number of merchants outside mainland China are accepting the app to attract Chinese tourists. So far, the UnionPay app users can enjoy mobile payment services offered by UnionPay, including QR code payment and contactless payment, in 46 countries and regions outside mainland China. UnionPay QR code payment is available at over 200,000 merchants outside mainland China. In Hong Kong and Macau alone, there are 5,000 more merchants, including the Rosedale Hotel and Metropark Hotel, which have supported this service since this year. Now, there are over 14,000 merchants in Hong Kong and Macau accepting UnionPay QR code payment.

Special discounts for UnionPay mobile payment users are available at more merchants

During this May Day holiday, the merchants providing special offers for UnionPay cardholders include international airports, shopping centers, landmark department stores, feature restaurants, car rental companies, hotels, as well as popular tourist attractions. Among them, airport is a crucial sector where UnionPay is providing special offers.

During the holiday, a total of 100 major airports in and outside China will provide special offers for UnionPay cardholders, with 14 international airports in the Czech Republic, South Africa and India participating for the first time this year. In addition to discounts available at duty-free shops, UnionPay cardholders can also enjoy a variety of privileges at these airports, such as booking shuttle buses at a better price at the New York and San Francisco airports, renting WIFI at Kuala Lumpur Airport, and entry to the VIP lounge at the Moscow Airport.

It is worth noting that much more number and types of merchants are offering discounts for customers who pay with UnionPay mobile payment products. These merchants are mainly located in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Pacific, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Russia. And discounts for UnionPay QR code payment are available at large duty-free shops and brand stores for the first time. In Shila Duty-free in South Korea and Thomas Sabo in Singapore, for instance, discounts are available for the UnionPay app users who pay for a certain amount by scanning the UnionPay QR code.

Customers who pay with UnionPay mobile contactless payment can also enjoy offers in fields of transit and convenience stores. For example, tourists can enjoy discounts when using UnionPay mobile QuickPass to take the Moscow Aeroexpress and Kaohsiung MRT. Instant discounts for UnionPay contactless payments are also available at Woolworths supermarkets in Australia and CR Vanguard in Hong Kong.

SOURCE UnionPay International