Singapore’s Sentosa island resort launches Alipay to attract Chinese visitors
Chinese visitors can now use Alipay at Singapore’s Sentosa island resort
Sentosa, Singapore Tourism Board and Alipay are rolling out a ‘Smart Sentosa’ campaign to raise awareness about the new Alipay initiative
Sentosa island resort has become the first major integrated leisure destination in Singapore to launch the Alipay payment solution for Chinese visitors.
Alipay, a popular payment service among Chinse users, is available at 70% of merchants that participate in the Sentosa Islander Membership program.
China is currently the top market for visitor arrivals in Singapore. It also contributed to S$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) in tourist receipts in Singapore for the first half of 2018.
Commenting on the partnership, Cherry Huang, General Manager, Cross-border Business for South and Southeast Asia, Alipay said: “According to a recent Nielsen report on outbound Chinese tourism and consumption trends, Singapore was ranked one of the most popular destinations outside of Chinese mainland for Chinese tourists to visit.”
“In Singapore, Sentosa is a favourite attraction for Chinese visitors and business delegates who convene at the various hotels for seminars and conferences.”
This new cashless initiative is a collaboration between Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Alipay. It is expected to “enhance guest experiences and enable seamless access to Sentosa and its attractions, F&B and retail outlets for Chinese visitors” with faster and more secure mobile transactions through the Alipay smartphone app. The SDC runs Sentosa which has over 30 themed attractions, some 200 food & beverage (F&B) and retail outlets, 15 hotels with over 3,000 rooms, a mega integrated resort, two world-class golf courses, a yachting marina, and more.
Smart Sentosa marketing campaign
To increase awareness and participation for this initiative, the three partners will run a marketing campaign titled “Smart Sentosa” from now till March 2019. As part of the campaign, there will be various promotions planned to coincide with key travel periods for Chinese visitors such as the Lunar New Year in February.
The Smart Sentosa campaign also allows Chinese visitors to purchase the Sentosa Islander membership at an exclusive rate of RMB10 (US$1.50). The usual price is about RMB118 (US$18.40). Visitors can sign up through various platforms such as Alipay, Fliggy[1], Taobao, or Tmall. A virtual Sentosa Islander card will appear in guests’ Alipay accounts after successful registration.
A Sentosa Islander membership provides members and one of their companions unlimited free entry into Sentosa island. It also offers up to 50% discounts at over 70 attractions, F&B, hotels and retail outlets to Chinese visitors using Alipay. Additionally, Alipay will also be offering users e-vouchers that can be redeemed at any of the participating merchants across Sentosa.
Epic Adventures from the Island Beyond campaign
In a bid to draw more Southeast Asian tourists to Singapore, STB and SDC have also launched its inaugural ‘Epic Adventures from the Island Beyond’ marketing campaign.
The campaign showcases Sentosa’s array of unique adventures and experiences by featuring the island’s personalities, such as flowboarder Melissa Kamil from Wave House Sentosa, SDC’s arborist Daniel Seah, as well as celebrity chef Sam Leong and his son Joe Leong from Forest 森.
The omni channel campaign will cut across print, social media and digital platforms, as well as include on-ground activations in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
