Tourisme Montreal has formed a strategic partnership with OTT Financial Inc. to introduce Chinese mobile payment solutions WeChat Pay and Alipay in Montreal. With more than 960 million active users, these are the most popular online mobile payment solutions in China. Tourisme Montreal will work closely with OTT Financial to set up the infrastructure for these solutions, which promise to improve the travel experience for Chinese people visiting Montreal.
"We are taking concrete action to help our members and partners better serve their Chinese customers," said Yves Lalumiere, President and CEO of Tourisme Montreal. "This partnership has the potential to trigger increased tourist spending among Chinese visitors to the city."
Tourisme Montreal is anticipating a marked upturn in the number of tourists coming from China in the next few years due to the new direct air connections to Montreal. Some 123,000 Chinese tourists are expected here in 2017, which is 33% more than last year. "Montreal's tourism industry stands to benefit greatly by catering to this fast-growing customer base," said Mr. Lalumiere.