Surpassing 2019 revenue from Mainland Chinese customers, Go City becomes first global sightseeing pass to launch a mini program

Go City, a global sightseeing pass company, has introduced its Weixin mini program, a lightweight platform within Weixin, one of China’s largest social media networks. This milestone enables users across Mainland China to explore, purchase, and redeem Go City’s sightseeing passes for global destinations in over 30 cities worldwide.

Once a city is chosen, travellers have the option of the All Inclusive pass for unlimited attraction visits within a specified timeframe or the Explorer pass for a set number of attractions to explore within 60 days.

Neville Doe, Group Chief Financial Officer at Go City, states, “China has always been one of the most dynamic and important markets for us, and in this post-pandemic world, being able to offer our products on a native platform and transact using Weixin Pay enables us to further improve consumer trust with our Chinese customers. This launch strengthens our ability to showcase our 1500+ attraction partners comprising of theme parks, landmarks, museums, tours, activities, and hidden gems to the front of Weixin users.”

Dawn Jeremiah, Vice President of Marketing & Ecommerce for Go City, adds, “Launching an end-to-end service solution within one of the biggest social media platforms in the world is unprecedented for Go City. We have been gearing up on our customer acquisition strategies for Chinese travellers throughout the pandemic, and our launch is timely with our full recovery of the market. Cities that remain popular are London, New York, Paris, San Diego, with new favorites Singapore, Oahu, and Dubai.”

Innovating for the Chinese market

Despite being a prominent player in the travel space and a major sightseeing pass company, creating a technology product tailored specifically to the Chinese market was uncharted territory for Go City.

Preeti Naini, Regional Product Manager – APAC for Go City, explains, “Go City’s Weixin mini program has been re-imagined to the needs of the modern traveler. It’s fully integrated with our content management, order management, and back-end service systems to provide information, imagery, and availability for thousands of attractions as well as process orders at the click of a button. We are fully integrated with Weixin Pay to enable instant payments. We are planning to build on this experience and introduce similar solutions to expand our reach.”

Tencent-owned Weixin is an integral part of Chinese society, and Weixin Pay is widely adopted for various daily transactions. Recently, the company announced that inbound travelers to Mainland China can now use Weixin Pay, including those with passports and permits, to link their international bank cards for purchases at millions of merchants.

Etienne Ng, Regional Director, Southeast Asia for Weixin Pay, expresses, “Singapore is uniquely positioned for global partners to tap into Weixin’s ecosystem and unlock business opportunities from the outbound Chinese travellers’ market.”

Sales data highlights Singapore as the most purchased city on the mini program, further solidifying it as a top choice for Chinese tourists. Data from the Singapore Tourism Board reveals that Chinese visitor arrivals in July 2023 reached a healthy 59% of the figures from July 2019, showing steady month-on-month growth.

This launch marks the beginning of Go City’s expansion into the Chinese market.