Chinese Tourists Can Now Use Alipay At The Helsinki Airport

As numbers of Chinese tourists flock Helsinki Airport, the Finish premier airport introduced the use of payment method Alipay. Helsinki is one of the first airports in Europe, along Munich and Frankfurt, to provide Alipay to its Chinese passengers. Alipay was made available this past Holiday season.

The administration of the said airport has decided to offer Alipay due to increasing numbers of Chinese travellers either visiting the Finish capital or waiting for their connecting flights. Having a familiar option to pay for their needs is expected to increase their buying capability in safe and fast manner.

"Chinese passengers are the most rapidly growing customer group at Helsinki Airport, and the group that use the most money,'' says Elena Stenholm, commercial services director of the airport. She added that by giving an easy way to pay will make Chinese travellers feel a hassle-free and safe travel.

At present, there are seven commercial service centres that accept Alipay. These numbers are expected to grow as more shops are introduced to this payment option. M-box, Iitalla, Lindroos, Moomin and Finspiration were the first shops to receive payment via Alipay.

So far, Alipay is well-received on its first month. Chinese tourists now have more options to pay aside from China UnionPay which is already widely used. Stenholm sounds positive believing that more shops will be accepting Alipay soon if commercial operators will also accept Alipay's payment services.

Alipay is part of a global giant Alibaba. In China alone, it has an estimated 400 million users.  The number of Chinese passengers to fly in Helsinki is expected to increase as Alitrip estimates that it will bring 50,000 tourists this year in Rovaniemi. Most of them want to visit Lapland, a must-see destination for any traveller.

Meanwhile, for more must-see destination in Finland, check this article from Travelers Today.