Alipay’s labor day outbound travel transactions up 77% in 2024

East Asia and Southeast Asia were the most preferred destinations.

Outbound travel transactions via Alipay surged 77% from a year ago, whilst total spending was up 10% during the 2024 Labor Day holiday in China.

For the holiday, Alipay had teamed up with global merchants to launch extensive campaigns aimed for Chinese tourists. Enabled by Alipay+, Chinese travelers were able to pay digitally using their Alipay app at more than 8 million merchants across over 70 countries and regions. 

By market, short-haul destinations across Asia were the most preferred by Chinese tourists, with Alipay seeing a 52% increase in spending in Southeast Asia. 

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Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Macao SAR, Korea, the United States, and Thailand stand out as top destinations for Chinese travelers, drawing the most Alipay users. 

Malaysia is  also rising as a popular tourist destination, with spending in teh country more than doubling to a 171% rise year-on-year. 

Long-haul destinations have also reportedly gained traction, with North America, Europe, and Australia becoming the preferred choices for more exploratory and extended travels amongst Alipay users.