With China's first four-day May Day holiday approaching, its outbound tourism 
market continues to heat up. According to the statistics from several OTAs in 
China, about 60% of Chinese tourists will travel abroad during the holiday, and 
their destinations are increasingly diversified. 

So far, tourists can use UnionPay cards conveniently in 174 countries and 
regions. And since the beginning of this year, it is increasingly easy to use 
UnionPay cards in Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Recently, UnionPay 
International has teamed up with tens of thousands of well-known merchants in 
40 countries and regions outside mainland China to provide special discounts of 
up to 20% for UnionPay cardholders. Among these participating merchants, over 
10,000 will provide discounts for customers who pay with UnionPay mobile 
payment products. 

UnionPay continues to enhance its service capacity

To date, UnionPay payment is available at over 26 million merchants outside 
mainland China, covering almost all popular tourist destinations. And UnionPay 
cards are accepted in an increasing number of sectors. In Europe, for instance, 
over 90% of countries and regions have already accepted UnionPay cards. In the 
first quarter of 2019, a large number of F&B merchants, hotels and supermarket 
in the Baltic countries, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have started 
accepting UnionPay cards; which will drive the overall acceptance rate of 
UnionPay in these countries to 50%. In Northern Europe, UnionPay has recently 
achieved 100% acceptance in Denmark, while in Sweden and Finland over half of 
the local merchants accept UnionPay cards.

With the user number of the UnionPay app exceeding 150 million, an increasing 
number of merchants outside mainland China are accepting the app to attract 
Chinese tourists. So far, the UnionPay app users can enjoy mobile payment 
services offered by UnionPay, including QR code payment and contactless 
payment, in 46 countries and regions outside mainland China. UnionPay QR code 
payment is available at over 200,000 merchants outside mainland China. In Hong 
Kong and Macau alone, there are 5,000 more merchants, including the Rosedale 
Hotel and Metropark Hotel, which have supported this service since this year. 
Now, there are over 14,000 merchants in Hong Kong and Macau accepting UnionPay 
QR code payment.

Special discounts for UnionPay mobile payment users are available at more 
merchants

During this May Day holiday, the merchants providing special offers for 
UnionPay cardholders include international airports, shopping centers, landmark 
department stores, feature restaurants, car rental companies, hotels, as well 
as popular tourist attractions. Among them, airport is a crucial sector where 
UnionPay is providing special offers.

During the holiday, a total of 100 major airports in and outside China will 
provide special offers for UnionPay cardholders, with 14 international airports 
in the Czech Republic, South Africa and India participating for the first time 
this year. In addition to discounts available at duty-free shops, UnionPay 
cardholders can also enjoy a variety of privileges at these airports, such as 
booking shuttle buses at a better price at the New York and San Francisco 
airports, renting WIFI at Kuala Lumpur Airport, and entry to the VIP lounge at 
the Moscow Airport.

It is worth noting that much more number and types of merchants are offering 
discounts for customers who pay with UnionPay mobile payment products. These 
merchants are mainly located in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Pacific, South 
Korea, Southeast Asia and Russia. And discounts for UnionPay QR code payment 
are available at large duty-free shops and brand stores for the first time. In 
Shila Duty-free in South Korea and Thomas Sabo in Singapore, for instance, 
discounts are available for the UnionPay app users who pay for a certain amount 
by scanning the UnionPay QR code. 

Customers who pay with UnionPay mobile contactless payment can also enjoy 
offers in fields of transit and convenience stores. For example, tourists can 
enjoy discounts when using UnionPay mobile QuickPass to take the Moscow 
Aeroexpress and Kaohsiung MRT. Instant discounts for UnionPay contactless 
payments are also available at Woolworths supermarkets in Australia and CR 
Vanguard in Hong Kong. 

SOURCE: UnionPay International