Abu Dhabi’s Yas Theme Parks to accept Alipay

Chinese visitors to Yas Theme Parks can now pay using Alipay, as the number of Chinese tourists to UAE surges. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi will all accept the digital payment service.

The UAE is a popular destination for Chinese tourists – one in every 16 visitors to the UAE is from China, according to industry stats. As a result, Chinese travellers account for a growing share of Yas Theme Parks visitors.

Alibaba’s Alipay, together with Tencent’s WeChat Pay, handles over 90 per cent of all digital transactions in China today. The move by Yas ensures that travellers from China can use their preferred mobile payment method when purchasing tickets online or on their mobile app.

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The platform was installed by CellPoint Digital, a provider of digital payments integration services.

“We are delighted to welcome Yas Theme Parks as our first customers in the park and attraction segment,” said Ciaran Wilson, head of sales MEA at CellPoint Digital.

“Offering the most popular payment methods to your customers wherever they come from is critical to increasing conversion, and this is true for any company with an international clientele. We see it for airlines, for rail operators and now for world-class attractions like Yas Theme Parks,” he added.

Alipay is used in smartphones with the Alipay Wallet app. It is the world’s number one mobile payment service platform and the second-largest payment service organisation in the world.