UnionPay establishes closer ties between Chinese, SA tourism

Speakers included Roxanne Lombard (Cape Town Tourism), Duke Malan (Hilburg Malan), Xing Gan (UnionPay International), Grant Newton (Shimansky) and Bradley Brouwer (President: Global Trade for South African Tourism).

Xing Gan

Growing the SA consumer base

"We’re thrilled to be expanding our footprint into South Africa and further afield in the continent," said Gan.

"The Chinese and Asian markets are some of the fastest growing markets for travel into South Africa and we need to facilitate business accordingly. In light of current developments in the BRICS formation, this trend is only set to increase as more Chinese citizens travel to South Africa for business, leisure and investment purposes.

"UnionPay cards have become the commonly used payment method of Chinese outbound tourists and are gaining popularity among an increasing number of global consumers. As a result, we’re looking to forge closer relationships between Chinese and local tourism operators in an effort to facilitate a smooth travelling experience for our clients."

The company is looking at discretional offers that vendors are willing to extend to the UnionPay global cardholder base.