Being able to pay with your mobile phone may be the standard in China - used everywhere from buying street food to splurging in designer boutiques - but it has now become something that overseas retailers desperately need, as a hook to draw Chinese tourists amid the National Day holiday which started on Sunday.

A post by a Japanese shop owner asking for access of Alipay, one of China’s major mobile payment platforms, has recently received wide attention on 21channel, Japan’s leading bbs.

“Recently, there are a lot of Chinese tourists asking whether they could pay through Alipay when visiting my souvenir shop in Kyoto,” the blog user noted last Friday, adding “though I told them VISA is available, the absence of Alipay has disappointed many.”

Reaching out to netizens for help, the user went on by saying that he was also worried that the lack of mobile payment access would affect his business in the ongoing travel boom, when Chinese travelers are expected to spend the most money in his shop.

“Chinese people could go out with just a mobile phone,” another blog user noted, echoing the post, defining mobile payment service as an indispensable part of Chinese outings at home and abroad.

It is estimated that during China’s National Day Golden Week from October 1 to 8, over 700 million trips would be made across the country with more than 6 million people expected to travel abroad, according to a joint report released last Thursday by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip.com International Ltd., a major online travel services provider.

Among the 88 countries and regions that Chinese tourists are heading to during this year’s Golden Week, Japan has seen the biggest gains in popularity, rising from last year’s third place to second on the list of top five overseas destinations, as per Ctrip and the China Tourism Academy.

Noting the huge potential market brought about by the growing number of Chinese tourists, who spent more than holiday-makers from any other country in 2016 according  to Asia and the Pacific at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), many major shopping spots in Japan have made mobile payments available ahead of the National Day vacation in an attempt to cater to Chinese customers’ paying habit and further boost their purchasing power.

In outlets of Yamada Denki, one of Japan's largest consumer electronics retailer chains, Chinese customers are able to pay the bills on their phones during this National Day holiday, CRI reported.

Discounts would also be provided to tourists purchasing through Alipay at some shops in Haneda and Narita Airport in order to encourage consumption, Chen Caiyin, staff member of Ant Financial Service Group which owns the mobile payment platform, told CRI.