BookIt, a Trade Me’s booking engine, will accept payment through China UnionPay cards, becoming the first local online booking engine in New Zealand to accept the Chinese payment service.
More than 3.1 billion cards of China UnionPay is in circulation in China, and nine out of every ten credit cards issued in China is UnionPay branded.
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To improve conversion and pre-booking for operators and resellers using BookIt, the online booking engine has decided to translate its booking process into simplified Chinese, combined with the preferred payment method for Chinese travelers.
Trade Me travel head Daniel Bridges was quoted by Scoop Media as saying: "Tourist numbers from China are already second only to Australia and forecast to double by 2019, so being able to accept their preferred payment method is very important."
"Bookings by Chinese travellers on BookIt are already up 51% in 2014 compared to 2013, so we’re pleased to be the first local online booking engine offering this to Kiwi tourism businesses."
Bridges further told the publication that the move was in line with the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand’s Tourism 2025 framework for the tourism industry.
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By GlobalData"Making it easier for Chinese tourists and Kiwi operators to do business is bang-on in terms of delivering on TIANZ’s focus on ‘targeting for value," Bridges added.
