Etihad Airways and Tencent Holdings Limited (Tencent) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the growth and development of innovation and digitalisation for the tourism industry.

Through the collaboration, Etihad Airways aims to enhance guest experience and broaden customer choice, as well as elevate its engagement with Chinese visitors.

Etihad Airways will leverage Tencent’s cloud computing capabilities and social media platforms such as WeChat, the largest social media platform in China with over one billion monthly active users, to better support its customer engagement strategy in China, and other potential regions across global network via accessing Tencent’s network and ecosystem partners.

As part of the collaboration, Etihad Airways has launched its own mini programme on WeChat, becoming one of the pilot international airlines to offer this service on the WeChat platform.

Mini programs allow brands to interact with WeChat users through provision of advanced features within the WeChat environment, without requiring the need for separate App downloads or interfaces.

Etihad Airways launched its WeChat public account in 2016, and the mini program is expected to boost its outreach to Chinese audiences.