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The partnership will seek to educate and upskill tourism business owners and staff so they are able to "capitalise on Alipay's 520 million active Chinese users", the ATEC said in an announcement on Thursday. ATEC members will be able attend workshops conducted by Alipay -- which is operated by Alibaba's financial services arm Ant Financial -- in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane to learn more about Chinese consumers. In the year ending June 30, 2017, nearly 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited Australia, more than 20 percent greater than the previous year, and contributed AU$9.8 billion to the economy, according to Tourism Australia. More than 3.3 million Chinese tourists are predicted to be visiting Australia annually by 2026. In addition, around 165,000 Chinese nationals are studying in Australia, according to Tourism Australia, representing 29 percent of all international students. "Chinese visitors have become Australia's largest tourist market and their spending potential is expected to be worth up to AU$13 billion by 2020 so our industry is very aware of the opportunities ahead," ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said in a statement. In Australia, the number of merchants using Alipay has grown from 1,000 to 8,000 in just a few months, according to the ATEC. Read Original Article |
