Saudi Arabia is set to offer a new mobile payment and marketing solution for Asian tourists, as part of its efforts to boost its tourism sector and foster closer ties with China.

The Saudi Tourism Authority and Ant Group, the parent company of Alipay, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce Alipay+ to the Kingdom.

Alipay+ is a suite of unified global mobile payment and marketing solutions that enables local businesses to process various mobile payment methods and reach over 1.4 billion regional and global consumers.

The move comes as the Middle East leads the world in tourism rebound, with tourist arrivals in the region 20 per cent above the pre-pandemic levels between January and July 2023, according to a UN World Tourism Organisation report. Cross-border travel is also on the rise globally, with about 700 million tourists travelling internationally in the same period.

Alipay+ was launched by Ant Group in 2020 and is now available in over 50 markets outside China across Asia, Europe, as well as the Middle East. The solution provides cross-border tourists with a range of convenient features, such as making payments using their familiar home payment methods at various merchants, eliminating the need for cash transactions.

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