As Chinese tourists flock to Queensland for the July summer holidays, AirPass, a subsidiary of AirPay Financial Technologies and SwiftPass, is partnering with Roxy Jacenko's 18Communications to assist local businesses targeting Chinese shoppers. A pop-up kiosk alongside the Gucci store at Pacific Fair shopping centre kicked off WeChat Shopping Week, offering shoppers WeChat Red Packet promotions, gift redemptions, digital coupons to spend at online food/travel marketplace HarkHark, sweet treats for tourists staying in Rhapsody Resort and free SkyPoint Observation Deck tickets when staying at Q1 Resort & Spa. A number of merchants signed up with AirPass at the centre. Queensland's picturesque beaches, clean-living lifestyle and mild climate have proven popular with Chinese tourists. In 2018, more than 500,000 Chinese tourists spent close to $1.3 billion in the state. Across the country, each year more than 1.4 million Chinese tourists spend an average of $8,900 per trip - pumping around $12 billion into the Australia economy. Accepting payment methods favoured by Chinese shoppers is becoming essential for Australian retailers and service providers, with 93 percent of Chinese tourists preferring to use mobile payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay when travelling overseas. Beyond accepting WeChat Pay/Alipay payments and offering package deals, AirPass and 18Communications also offer Australian businesses access to the Chinese social platform with unique content creation, key opinion leader outreach, public relations and marketing services. A finalist in FinTech Australia's 2019 Finnie Awards, AirPass has already been adopted by major retailers including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Valentino, Givenchy, Off-White, Mulberry, Furla, Aje, AliceMcCall, Harrolds, Marais, Paspaley, Folli Follie, Sneakerboy, Glue Store, Culture Kings, etc. It supports all Chinese payment methods including WeChat Pay, Alipay and UnionPay, plus it allows eCommerce merchants to accept WeChat Pay and Alipay online via Shopify, Magento and AsiaPay PayDollar plugins. "We believe aligning the agency and my group with AirPass will see great benefits to many clients who are starting to understand the importance of the Chinese consumer here in Australia," says 18Communications chief executive Roxy Jacenko. AirPass' agreement with 18Communications significantly enhances its marketing and social management prowess, says Jimmy Zhu - chief executive of AirPass. For further information contact: Simon Tse simon@airpayfintech.com 03 9069 8197 Oliver Curtis 02 9358 6868 oliver@18communications.com SOURCE: AirPay Financial Technologies Pty Ltd