Chinese tourists to Dubai can now get instant VAT refunds at Dubai Airports via the We Tax Refund on the WeChat Mini Programme, launched by Chinese tech giant, Tencent and international payments service provider, Planet.

With the support of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), the new integrated service provides a seamless and secure way for visitors to instantly claim back their tax on purchases they have made while visiting the emirate, and further supports the department’s ongoing ‘China Readiness’ strategy to grow and maintain the emirate’s share in a key source market while enhancing holistic experiences of its Chinese guests.

Visitors will receive their tax refunds instantly at the airport via the WeChat app in the local RMB currency and will receive a notification once the refund has been issued.

Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism said: “Our ongoing mandate is to provide seamless tourist experiences to all our visitors, and our support of key industry partners such as Tencent and Planet allows the city to offer increased ease of travel as we diversify our portfolio of critical touchpoints.”

The city continues to welcome an increased number of Chinese visitors with 12% year-on-year growth and cementing 650,000 Chinese tourists within the first eight months of the year.