Dubai Parks and Resorts announced that it signed a strategic partnership with Chinese payment gateway UnionPay to provide marketing services and facilitate payments for cardholders visiting the UAE.

Ahmed Al Rayyes, chief commercial officer at Dubai Parks and Resorts, said: “Chinese tourists make up a major segment of visitors to Dubai every year. We want to encourage these visitors to come to Dubai Parks and Resorts and enjoy a host of attractions for the whole family.”

This partnership comes after the launch of the Hala China initiative, which was set up to drive investment and tourism between the UAE and China. China is one of the top tourism source markets for Dubai – with a total of 258,000 visitors to the emirate in Q1 2018 who significantly contributed to tourism revenues.

Currently, UnionPay is the preferred payment platform for a majority of outbound Chinese travelers. With six billion subscribers globally, the company has the largest cardholder base in the world. The cards are accepted in 170 countries around the world and the brand partners with over 1,800 institutions globally.