Japanese department store targets Chinese travellers

Japanese department store chain, Takashimaya, is joining up with China's online travel agency CTrip to attract more Chinese tourists to its stores. CTrip, which has about 250 million members and just over 30% of China's online travel-booking market, will post the department store's promotions on its website, and its Japan-bound customers will be able to enjoy discounts when shopping at Takashimaya. Following a similar move made by Kintetsu, the chain will also introducing Alibaba's Alipay online payment solution and hopes the tie-in with CTrip and the Alipay service will boost its sales by 10-20% in 2016.      

TOKYO -- Takashimaya will team with travel-booking website Ctrip to draw more Chinese tourists to its department stores.

Ctrip, which boasts 250 million members and a little more than 30% of China's online booking market, will post promotions from the Japanese department store operator on its website. It will also include the information when emailing itineraries to Japan-bound tourists. These customers will enjoy markdowns when shopping at Takashimaya.