Chinese tourists stranded while rafting in valley
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South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Alibaba's Taobao debuts multi-tier loyalty scheme offering shopping discounts, hotel perks
Alibaba Group Holding 's online marketplace Taobao has launched a new membership system that integrates various services from the firm's other apps, aiming to create synergies and drive growth across the company's expansive ecosystem. The loyalty programme, free of charge, offers users a range of benefits from Taobao, on-demand delivery service online travel agency Fliggy, grocery chain Freshippo, and online mapping and ride-hailing service Amap. It was open to about 1 billion users on Taobao and sister shopping platform Tmall, the company said on Wednesday. The move confirms a report by the Post on Tuesday that Alibaba was planning a new membership programme spanning multiple services. Alibaba owns the Post. The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu. Members in the highest tier of Taobao's new loyalty scheme enjoy gold status at Hilton and other hotel chains. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS The new system features six tiers: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond and black diamond. Each Taobao user is assigned a tier based on their past activities on the platform, along with corresponding benefits, according to the company. Members in the highest tier, black diamond, are eligible for at least 14 benefits, including an additional 20 per cent discount on select products on Taobao and Tmall, as well as premium membership on Fliggy that confers gold status at 31 lodging chains, including Marriott International and Hilton Hotels and Resorts.
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese tourists offered visa-free entry to South Korea from September
South Korea has rolled out a temporary visa waiver programme for Chinese tour groups in the latest effort to help strengthen fragile ties. Advertisement From September 29, members of Chinese tour groups will be allowed to enter South Korea without a visa until June 30 next year, the office of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Wednesday. It is the first time that South Korea has allowed travel visa exemptions for Chinese tour groups, regardless of point of entry. Previously, only Jeju Island offered such access, allowing group visitors visa-free stays of up to 30 days. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced the visa-free programme on Wednesday. Photo: EPA/Yonhap 'With South Korea's inbound tourism market recovering rapidly, the implementation of this visa waiver programme is expected to help boost demand for travel to Korea, revitalise regional economies and fuel domestic consumption,' a government official said, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency. Chinese nationals made up the largest group of overseas tourists travelling to South Korea, with about 2.5 million arrivals in the first half of this year, The Korea Herald reported, citing the Korea Tourism Organisation. In November, Beijing announced a unilateral visa-free policy for South Koreans, allowing them to stay in China for up to 15 days until the end of this year. Advertisement The measure drove strong growth in South Korean travel to China, with passenger traffic from November to March up 20.4 per cent to 5.7 million visits, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in Seoul.
South China Morning Post
17 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
South Korea offers Chinese tourists visa-free entry from September
South Korea will offer visa-free entry to tourist groups from China , for a temporary period from September 29 through June 2026, to boost foreign tourism ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit, the government said on Wednesday. Advertisement The visa-free offer was first announced in March after China's decision last November to offer a visa exemption to South Koreans and foreign visitors from other countries. The decision to introduce the measure ahead of a Chinese holiday period in early October will help boost the domestic economy amid a recovery in foreign visits, the tourism ministry said, after a meeting to discuss measures to revitalise tourism ahead of the Asia-Pacific summit. South Korea will host a summit of leaders from 21 economies for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum from October 31 to November 1 in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, a gathering where Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump might hold separate talks. Tourists from China pose for photos in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. Photo:
