Australia's Queensland state tourism to adopt Alipay for easier online payment

Tourism operators in Australia's Queensland State will be encouraged to adopt the online payment platform, Alipay, in an effort to attract Chinese visitors and help them get the most out of their trip, officials said on Thursday.

Currently in Shanghai for the first China International Import Expo, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk met with representatives from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, who operate Alipay, to discuss ways of improving services for the state's biggest tourism market.

"500,000 Chinese visitors came to Queensland in 2017, spending a record 945 million U.S. dollars," Palaszczuk said.

"With a potential market in the millions we need to do all we can to promote Queensland to Alibaba's users and make their holidays as seamless as possible," she added.

Workshops will be conducted towards the end of this year for local tourism operators to learn how to adopt the new platform.

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said that with an expected increase of visitors over Chinese New Year 2019, as well as thousands of Chinese visitors attending the Amway Leadership Seminar, it is especially crucial for Queensland to adapt to consumer's needs.

"We know we operate in a highly competitive market when it comes to attracting international visitors, and we want to make things as smooth as possible, making transactions easier which will hopefully encourage visitors to book and travel to Queensland," Jones said.