Mastercard Relaunches Priceless Beijing Programme, as Global Tourism Uptake Continues

Payments giant Mastercard has relaunched its ‘Priceless Beijing’ programme, in partnership with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, to offer cardholders visiting China access to hundreds of destinations, including the Great Wall and the Peking Opera.

Utilising the public-private partnership, Mastercard and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism hope to enhance the experiences of inbound travellers to China.

Priceless Beijing is an extension of Mastercard’s global Priceless platform. Cardholders worldwide can access hundreds of dynamically curated experiences across over 30 premier destinations.

Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard, explained: “Connecting people to their passions, their purpose and each other is our focus at Mastercard, and nothing bridges cultures as powerfully as travel. We are thrilled to partner with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism to relaunch Priceless Beijing, unlocking unforgettable experiences for countless future visitors to this captivating city.”

With this relaunch, visitors to Beijing can enjoy Priceless Experiences at the iconic Great Wall, the Peking Opera, and King’s Joy, the first Michelin Green Star and three-Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in China, and more.

At the relaunch ceremony, Yang Shuo, director-general of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, highlighted Beijing’s steps to boost inbound tourism. “These include improving the experience for travellers by updating the tourism portal website and optimising payment services across the dining, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, healthcare, and education sectors.

“By partnering with Mastercard to appeal to tourist preferences for lifestyle experiences, digital communications, self-service options and more, we look forward to further developing Beijing as a premier tourism and retail destination for travelers around the world.”

Taking advantage of uptake in travel

According to Mastercard’s 2024 Travel Trends report, global tourism is booming: nine out of the last 10 record-setting spending days in the global cruise and airline industries occurred this year. The Mastercard Economics Institute anticipates this will continue as we enter the busy travel season and consumers around the world prioritise meaningful experiences like travel.

Building on this momentum, the relaunch of Priceless Beijing looks to showcase Beijing’s cultural assets and tourism offerings, broaden secure and trusted payment options for travellers, and forge a connection between China and the global tourism sector.

“As an ancient capital that captures the essence of Chinese traditional culture, Beijing is full of vigor and  vitality while remaining quaint and graceful, beckoning visitors from all over the world,” said Dennis Chang, executive vice president and division president of Greater China at Mastercard.

“In recent years, the travel environment for international inbound visitors has improved significantly, aided in part by Mastercard and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. As innovative cooperation projects such as Priceless Beijing continue to expand, Mastercard looks forward to introducing more payment facilitation measures to offer consumers even more choices in how they pay and receive payments, helping to better connect China and the world by supporting tourism recovery.”

Bridging China to the world, one payment at a time

Through its trusted and convenient payment services, Mastercard has ensured peace of mind for international visitors to the Chinese Mainland for decades.

The payment provider recently launched its ‘Pay Like a Local’ programme to broaden the acceptance of international bankcards by giving travellers an easy and convenient way to pay – via ubiquitous QR code payments – while shopping at tens of millions of local merchants.

Additionally, Mastercard NetsUnion, a joint venture between Mastercard and NUCC, began processing payments in the Chinese Mainland in May 2024 using Mastercard cards issued by Chinese banks and launched Mastercard cards that are now accepted for both domestic and international purchases.

With the launch of additional products and the ongoing expansion of Mastercard’s omni-channel acceptance network in the Chinese Mainland, cardholders will soon have the opportunity to experience Priceless Beijing firsthand.