China pushes visa‑free travel and digital tourism integration in Asia‑Pacific

Tourism ministers from APEC economies gathered in Macao, China, where Minister Sun Yeli highlighted three priorities for the region: accelerating digital innovation, improving travel facilitation and broadening tourism benefits. He cited technologies such as real‑time translation glasses, exoskeleton devices and virtual reality to enhance visitor experience and noted that electronic visas could lift bilateral travel flows by up to 15 %.

In a related initiative, China announced a programme to expand visa‑free entry and cross‑border digital payments across the Asia‑Pacific, targeting partners including Macau, Singapore and Japan. The plan aims to simplify travel and digital transactions by 2027 and to draw an additional 15 million tourists annually by 2028. Macau, which recorded $12.3 billion in tourism revenue in 2025, is expected to benefit, though local businesses warn of infrastructure strain and the need for sustainable growth. The digital‑payment component seeks greater interoperability between Alipay, WeChat Pay and payment systems in Japan and South Korea, despite regulatory hurdles.