KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Three million tourists from mainland China are expected to benefit from the WeChat Go Malaysia Mini Program, an interactive app, to search for any information and attraction in Malaysia from today.

Head of WeChat Global Marketing Ma Feng Ming said the programme served as a key platform to attract inbound visitors from mainland China through a partnership with Tourism Malaysia for the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign.

“Via the interactive guide in Chinese, the Mini Program enables a digital travel experience on Malaysian attractionss, food, culture and shopping venues,” he said during the launch of the WeChat Go Malaysia Mini Program here, today.

He said it also enabled the travellers to pay using their home currency, the Renminbi, for services provided such as at Pos Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur International Airprot (KLIA) Express, TripCarte and CatchThatBus.

“Visitors can select from a list of postcards and Pos Malaysia will print and deliver it to any address in mainland China. For the KLIA Express, tourists can book and pay for tickets ahead of the airport transfer train ride.

“Meanwhile, tourists can also book and pay for tickets to tourist attractions in Malaysia using TripCarte. CatchThatBus allows them to book and pay for bus tickets ahead of the ride,” Ma added.

Besides this programme, telco provider U Mobile, has partnered WeChat to launch the Pavilion KL Mini Program which begins on Oct 1.

Chief executive officer (retail) Pavilion KL, Datuk Joyce Yap said it is aimed at enhancing the dining and shopping experience for tourists.

“They can make reservations, order and pay for meals, at over 30 participating food and beverage merchants.

“At retail and fashion stores, they can order and pay for their choice of merchandise via the Mini Program and simply collect purchases when ready,” she said in her speech at the WeChat Go Malaysia Mini Program.

Last year, there were 2.9 million visitors from mainland China to Malaysia.

Currently there are 1.1 billion active WeChat users.