Justin Watson, chief aeronautical and commercial officer for Christchurch Airport, and Jason Dawson, chief executive of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, sign the memorandum of understanding.
Waikato’s tourism operators and the wider region are expected to benefit from a new partnership between Christchurch Airport and Hamilton & Waikato Tourism.
The partnership between Hamilton & Waikato Tourism and Christchurch Airport has been launched with the signing in May of a memorandum of understanding at the TRENZ Conference in Rotorua. The partnership will see Christchurch Airport’s South Alibaba programme extend into Waikato.
Key to helping Waikato businesses succeed in the Chinese market is the adoption of Alipay. Alipay is a Chinese smartphone app used to pay for everything from street food to luxury merchandise around the world. It was used by 150 million Chinese international travellers last year and is a valuable marketing tool for businesses.
Christchurch Airport is leading a project to assist New Zealand businesses to become Alipay merchants.
The airport’s Alibaba programme also includes the launch of a flagship store on Alibaba’s online travel agency, Fliggy. As part of the partnership between Christchurch Airport and Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, this store will be extended to include Hamilton and Waikato tourism operators.
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism CEO Jason Dawson says Christchurch Airport’s Alibaba programme offers a great opportunity to the region.
“China is currently our third largest international market and we know our Chinese visitors love our iconic attractions such as Hobbiton Movie Set, Waitomo Caves and Hamilton Gardens. Through our partnership with Christchurch Airport we will be able to better market our region to these visitors, making it as easy as possible for them to extend their stay and experience more of what the mighty Waikato region has to offer.”
Christchurch Airport’s programme director of the Alibaba project Ken Freer says having the Waikato region join the Alibaba project is an example of the significant momentum that the programme is gathering around the country.
“The growing interest in Alipay means the tourism experience we can offer Chinese visitors is increasingly more seamless, targeted and connected. It’s an example of how we are working together with regional partners to grow tourism across New Zealand, especially in the high value free independent traveller market,” says Freer.
The Airport’s Alipay programme was launched in 2017 and since then more than 3600 businesses have signed on as Alipay merchants through the programme, with more joining every day.
