The National Day Holidays and the Mid-Autumn Festival overlap this year, forming an 8-day Golden Week, which will usher in the outbound travel peak. UnionPay International announced today to initiate a Special Offers Program for the National Holidays, namely Outbound Travel Experience Month. Based on its data analysis, UnionPay International has selected 33 popular tourist destinations in 11 countries and regions to provide exclusive discounts and value-added services, offering safer and better payment services to outbound tourists.

This Program covers the outbound travel peak starting from mid-September to mid-October. The 33 travel destinations not only include short-distance destinations such as Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and Southeast Asia, but also encompass long-distance destinations in Europe, the US and Australia. The majority of the tourists travel overseas during the National Holidays will benefit from the Program.

Data from the major OTAs in China show that the number of outbound tourists for the upcoming National Holidays is very likely to double over the past year. Europe, the US and Australia are among the most popular destinations among Chinese tourists. Tourists are planning longer trips, from 8 to 10-day sightseeing, to 11 to 14-day in-depth tours.

Since this year, UnionPay International is constantly improving user experiences overseas by expanding its acceptance coverage among daily-spending merchants, strengthening cashier training and putting up more UnionPay logos. In major tourist destinations, UnionPay is available not only at tourism-related merchants, but also at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, cinemas, public transport and entertainment establishments. In this way, UnionPay is providing better services for free-and-independent travelers, the local residents as well as tour groups.

Duan Weixiao, a flight attendant at China Eastern Airlines, mainly flies international flights. He said he seldom carries foreign currencies with him. With simply a UnionPay debit card and a UnionPay credit card, he can make smooth payments when he’s overseas. “The UnionPay card is a must-have of us flying international flights.” he said. In Europe, the US and Australia, UnionPay is not simply “available” but “preferable”. In Europe, UnionPay is available at half of all the merchants accepting bankcards; about 50% of the merchants in Australia accept UnionPay mobile QuickPass; and almost all ATMs in the US support UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal and 80% of the local merchants accept UnionPay credit cards.

The Special Offers Programs integrates some of the best offers from UnionPay International’s global campaign, 60 Selected Tourist Destinations, and its accurate cross-border marketing product, U Plan. Two hundred well-known merchants outside mainland China are offering exclusive discounts up to 40% off for UnionPay cardholders. These merchants are of various types: besides that of shopping, catering and lodging, there are also car rentals, chateaus, museums and aquariums, meeting cardholders’ diverse travel demands.

For instance, you may enjoy discounts or privileges when shopping at all the stores of the Macy’s in the US and the La Rinascente in Italy, or buying tickets of the Hong Kong Ocean Park, Sydney Tower Eye and Singapore Merlion Tower, or dining at Michelin starred restaurants like Guy Savoy in Paris and Pierre Gagnaire in Tokyo, or renting cars at Budget in Thailand and Hertz in the US.

Moreover, the UnionPay value-added services including UnionPay Tax Refund and Emergency Assistance Service are improving. After shopping at over 300,000 tax refund merchants across 38 countries and regions, cardholders are able to claim tax refund with UnionPay cards. If you’ve shopped in Europe, you may claim refund after coming back to China. When encountering emergencies, such as card lost or stolen, you may apply for cash assistance capped at the equivalent of USD 5,000.