LankaPay, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, and Alipay+ have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at boosting Sri Lanka’s tourism appeal and attracting international visitors, particularly from Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

In a release on Tuesday, Singapore-based Ant International, the operator of cross-border payment solution Alipay+, said the initiative can leverage the global ecosystem of Alipay+ with more than 40 international partners, including e-wallets and banking applications, reaching over 1.8 billion user accounts.

Enabled locally through LankaPay, the partnership seeks to position Sri Lanka as a preferred destination through targeted campaigns focused on high-value travelers.

As part of the collaboration, users of Alipay+ partner platforms will receive promotional offers when making payments via LankaQR in Sri Lanka. The incentives are expected to influence travel decisions and increase tourist spending, contributing to tourism revenue.

The collaboration aligns with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority’s strategy to attract more visitors from key Asian and Asia-Pacific markets, amid shifting global tourism dynamics. It is also intended to enhance the country’s visibility and accessibility among these segments.

The agreement marks the first phase of a broader partnership between LankaPay and SLTDA to support long-term tourism development. As a global partner of LankaPay, Alipay+ enables cross-border QR payments and provides AI-powered in-app marketing and travel services aimed at improving convenience for international visitors while promoting digital payment adoption across the country.

In addition to supporting inbound tourism, the initiative can help local businesses by encouraging micro and small merchants to adopt LankaQR, Sri Lanka’s national QR payment network. This would allow them to participate more effectively in the digital payments ecosystem and access international customers.

The partnership also supports Sri Lanka’s wider push to expand digital payment adoption, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises, as part of broader financial sector transformation efforts.

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