Dubai Parks and Resorts will now accept payments made using UnionPay credit and debit cards, expanding payment options for Chinese visitors to the UAE, a report said.

The partnership between Dubai Parks and Resorts and Chinese payment gateway UnionPay started on August 1 and targets the growing number of Chinese visitors, said a report in WAM.

Commenting on the partnership, Ahmed Al Rayyes, chief Commercial Officer at Dubai Parks and Resorts, said, "Chinese tourists make up a major segment of visitors to Dubai every year. We want to encourage these visitors to come to Dubai Parks and Resorts and enjoy a host of attractions for the whole family."

"Furthermore, the strategic partnership with UnionPay reinforces our commitment to establish Dubai as a preferred international family destination, and we have signed recently other strategic partnerships with several industry leaders such as Emirates Airlines, Dubai International Airport and the Dubai Taxi Corporation," he added.

This partnership comes after the launch of the Hala China initiative, which was set up to drive investment and tourism between the UAE and China. China is one of the top tourism source markets for Dubai – with a total of 258,000 visitors to the emirate in Q1 2018 who significantly contributed to tourism revenues, the report said.

Currently, UnionPay is the preferred payment platform for a majority of outbound Chinese travellers. With six billion subscribers globally, the company has the largest cardholder base in the world. The cards are accepted in 170 countries around the world and the brand partners with over 1,800 institutions globally, it said.