Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪)/CNA file photo

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) The Taipei 101 mall has joined the UPlan platform operated by UnionPay, a bank card service provider in China, in a bid to attract more Chinese tourists when they visit Taipei, the owners of the landmark Taipei 101 building said Friday.

According to the Taipei 101 mall, the shopping center is the first in Taiwan to embrace the UPlan platform, which can be used at ore than 4,000 vendors in 12 countries.

Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪) told the press that with the fall in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, the number of independent travelers now accounts for more than 50 percent of the total. In light of that development, Taipei 101 mall decided to work with UnionPay by joining the UPlan to provide discounts to boost purchases by Chinese patrons.

On its website, UnionPay claims the UPlan is the world's first open cross-border marketing service platform, adopting emerging mobile Internet technologies to facilitate precision marketing and instant discounts for cross-border purchases.

By scanning extensive QR codes provided by UPlan, customers can obtain coupons and present them at participating merchants overseas and pay with UnionPay cards to enjoy discounts.

In addition to vendors, the UPlan platform also works with international airlines and hotels to offer UnionPay card holders comprehensive discounts.

Transactions through the platform have totaled 2 billion Chinese yuan (US$303 million) since UPlan was introduced in Hong Kong in July 2016 with 5 million coupons already downloaded.

Under the cooperative deal with Taipei 101, UnionPay card holders will be eligible for a cash reimbursement of up to NT$300 for every NT$2,000 purchase made from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28.

A move to attract more independent Chinese travelers to Taiwan is expected to offset the impact of the falling number of group tourists who are on travel plans arranged by travel agencies.

The observatory deck of the skyscraper has been visited by many foreign visitors keen to take a close look at the capital city, while the mall area houses many international brands, including an official Apple Store.

Liu said Taipei 101 is hoping events such as participation in the UPlan platform and a move to hold New Year's Eve fireworks displays will help bring more foreign tourists to the building.

(By Chu Tse-wei and Frances Huang)
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