The increased exposure and accessibility of the passes to Chinese travellers is expected to generate substantial visitor growth to featured attractions.
LONDON – Tourism attractions in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco and Las Vegas are set for a significant increase in Chinese visitors following the signing of a landmark strategic partnership between the world's leading attraction pass specialist The Leisure Pass Group and China's top tourism group Ctrip.
Ctrip – which serves hundreds of millions of domestic and outbound Chinese tourists each year and launched its own 'Dolphin Pass' attraction pass brand in April 2018 – is now white labelling and marketing The Leisure Pass Group's London Pass and New York Pass, dedicated sightseeing products providing entry to a comprehensive selection of attractions, tours and museums across each city.
The increased exposure and accessibility of the passes to Chinese travellers is expected to generate substantial visitor growth to featured attractions, which include iconic sites such as the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock Observatory in New York, and the Tower of London and Windsor Castle in the UK capital, as well as hop-on/hop-off bus touring, sightseeing cruises and many lesser-known 'hidden gem' attractions.
Ctrip will also roll out white labelled versions of Leisure Pass Group passes in Paris, San Francisco and Las Vegas during 2018. In return, The Leisure Pass Group will white label Ctrip's Shanghai Dolphin Pass, marketing it as the 'Go Shanghai' Card to customers in North America and Europe.
Leisure Pass Group Chief Commercial Officer Jon Owen explained: "The partnership with Ctrip brings together their unrivalled reach and knowledge in the Chinese outbound tourism market with our expertise in designing and operating multi-attraction passes in the world's leading cities, creating great value and a quality visitor experience for our customers.
"We believe this will be a game-changer for our featured attractions in the target cities, helping them to capitalise on the record numbers of Chinese consumers now travelling overseas."
Weiping Liao, Deputy General Manager of Ctrip's Overseas Activities Department, added: "We anticipate that the Leisure Pass Group passes will be extremely popular with Ctrip customers visiting the five featured cities. They will provide our travellers with easy, convenient access to a comprehensive range of experiences, saving time and money at the same time. We are very excited by the potential this partnership offers."
Formed by the merger of three leading sightseeing pass specialists – Go City Card parent Smart Destinations, the UK-based Leisure Pass Group and The New York Pass – the combined Leisure Pass Group became the world's largest tourism attraction pass provider in March 2017 and now operates passes in more than 30 cities across the USA, Europe, the Middle East and Australasia.
In December 2017, Ctrip was named China's top travel provider for the fourth successive year by the China Tourism Academy and China Tourism Association, based on annual transaction volume and operating income. Its official app has been downloaded more than three billion times, while the company has also extended its traditional online model by establishing more than 6,000 retail stores.
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