How Digital Technology Is Transforming and Driving Travel Industry Growth
Digital Innovation and Human Connection Drive Tourism Growth at Beijing Tourism Conference
Digital technologies are transforming the global tourism industry by making travel more efficient, accessible, and personalized. At the same time, industry leaders say technology can play an equally important role in strengthening human connections, supporting local communities, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting more sustainable tourism growth.
The remarks were made during the opening ceremony of the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2026, held Wednesday at Shougang Park in Beijing.
Hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and co-organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the conference brought together representatives from WTCF member cities, leaders of international organizations, cross-border travel companies, diplomatic envoys to China, and tourism experts from more than 50 countries and regions.
Held under the theme “Smart Tourism, Shared Prosperity,” the conference runs through Friday as part of the broader 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services.
Balancing Technology With Human Connection
Olaf McKay, mayor of Valletta, the capital of Malta, emphasized that the future of tourism should focus on creating benefits for both visitors and local residents.
“Our responsibility is not to choose between residents and visitors, but to build a model in which both can thrive. Smart tourism gives us practical tools to achieve this balance. For example, digital platforms can improve accessibility, multilingual information and journey planning,” McKay said.
He also highlighted China’s visa-free policy, saying it is making the country more accessible to Maltese travelers, particularly young people and students. Greater accessibility, he noted, provides more opportunities for visitors to experience China’s traditions and culture firsthand.
Ben Montgomery, vice-chairwoman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, a nonprofit membership organization headquartered in Bangkok, also highlighted the growing role of technology in travel.
“Artificial intelligence, data analytics and digital platforms are reshaping how people discover, book and experience destinations worldwide. As we embrace these tools, we must remember a fundamental truth: Tourism is ultimately about people,” Montgomery said.
She emphasized that the tourism industry’s greatest value lies in its ability to create connections between visitors and local communities, bring different cultures together, and foster greater understanding across borders.
“Beijing is a city where centuries of rich history seamlessly meet modern innovation. … Today is about turning ideas into practical collaborations through partnerships, matchmaking and open exchanges,” she added.
Beijing Highlights AI-Powered Tourism Applications
Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, said tourism provides international visitors with opportunities to experience everyday life in China and engage directly with Chinese culture and services.
He highlighted Beijing’s growing use of artificial intelligence to improve the visitor experience. Among the city’s initiatives are AI-supported tourism services and visitor-friendly measures such as cross-regional tax refund services, which he described as examples of how technology can be applied to cultural and tourism development.
According to Dai, these initiatives demonstrate the potential for AI to improve convenience for international visitors while creating more integrated and accessible tourism experiences.
Global Tourism Cities Report Highlights Leading Destinations
The conference also saw the release of the World Tourism Cities Development Report (2025-26) by the WTCF. The report was unveiled by Joseph Daniel Lema, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the United States.
The report examines major opportunities and challenges facing tourism cities worldwide, covering areas including safety governance, technology adoption, industrial integration, cultural heritage preservation, destination branding, and regional coordination.
It also provides forward-looking policy recommendations designed to help tourism cities strengthen competitiveness, improve governance, and pursue sustainable development.
The top 10 cities in the report’s World Tourism Cities Development Comprehensive Ranking are:
- New York
- Tokyo
- Paris
- London
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Hong Kong
- Milan
- Istanbul
- Dubai
Lema noted that Beijing had improved its position in the ranking, reflecting the city’s strengths in cultural resources, smart governance, and tourism safety.
New Digital Gateway for International Visitors
As part of the conference, China Daily and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism jointly launched the “China Bound•Beijing” English-language cultural tourism platform.
The platform is designed to provide international visitors with a one-stop digital gateway for discovering and planning travel to Beijing. It combines an English-language website with dedicated pages available through the China Bound Alipay and WeChat mini-programs.
Visitors can access services including itinerary planning and AI-powered assistance, helping international travelers discover Beijing’s cultural attractions, tourism resources, and local experiences.
The platform is also intended to make Beijing’s cultural tourism offerings more accessible to overseas audiences by presenting information in English and incorporating digital tools into the travel-planning process.
“We aim to tell Beijing’s cultural-tourism stories in a language overseas audiences understand, and translate the city’s resource advantages into inbound tourism appeal. We promote immersive experiences such as intangible cultural heritage to enable inbound visitors to stay longer for in-depth travel,” said Zheng Fang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
Toward Smarter and More Inclusive Tourism
The discussions at the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2026 highlighted a broader shift in the global tourism industry. While artificial intelligence, data analytics, and digital platforms are changing how travelers discover and experience destinations, industry leaders stressed that technology should ultimately serve people and communities.
By combining digital innovation with cultural preservation, international cooperation, and meaningful connections between visitors and residents, tourism destinations can create experiences that are not only more convenient but also more inclusive and sustainable.
For Beijing, the growing integration of smart tourism technologies with its rich cultural resources represents an opportunity to strengthen its position as an international tourism destination while offering visitors more personalized and immersive ways to experience the city.
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