June 28, 2018
China is very-much a cash-less society and when they travel, most Chinese residents would like the convenience of using a pay system that is compatible with what they use at home.
Chinese visitors spend, on average, almost $2,400 per visit. To capitalize on this reality, NWT Tourism is collecting the knowledge the NWT business community needs to encourage Chinese visitors to consider the NWT as a destination, purchase their tourism experiences, and spend their money once they get here.
This comes as part of the ongoing Canada-China Tourism Mission, which is led by the federal government.
Related to the Mission:
On-the-Ground: Finding Matches in China to Improve NWT Tourism
On-The-Ground: Spectacular NWT on Display as Part of Canada’s China Tourism Mission
NWT Tourism and its participating members sat down with a number of parties to learn about Chinese pay systems and other conveniences that tourists from China are looking for when travelling. Chief among them was Alibaba, who, on the strength of the Chinese market, is now the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform.
The importance of a compatible pay system cannot be understated — the presence, or lack thereof, can be a make-or-break for travellers from China.
And the market for consideration is continuously growing.
In the first quarter of 2018, China overtook the U.K. as the largest overseas market for Canadian tourism for the first time ever. Preliminary tourism estimates for January to March of 2018 show that approximately 131,000 Chinese tourists visited Canada, representing growth of 25.6% compared to the first quarter of 2017.
Realizing a greater share of this growing market could be as simple as making it easier to buy NWT products.
The federal-led tourism trade mission concludes Thursday.
