Dutch telecom operator launches WeChat Go card for Chinese tourists in Europe

THE HAGUE — Dutch telecom company KPN has teamed up with Tencent, owner of WeChat messaging service to launch a WeChat Go SIM card for Chinese tourists visiting Europe, the operator announced on Wednesday.

The WeChat Go SIM card offers calling and 4G data services, as well as additional features helpful for Chinese travellers in European Union countries, such as travel information, Chinese video content, top-ups and social media, according to KPN.

The card will be available starting from July on China's well-known e-commerce platforms, at airports, and at high traffic destinations for Chinese travellers in Europe.

Tencent is known for their messaging service application WeChat, known as Weixin in China, which was launched in 2011 and is now the world's most popular messaging service with more than 850 million users.

Last year, 294,000 Chinese tourists came to the Netherlands and this number could reach 325,000 this year and 420,000 in 2020, according to the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC).