Beijing wants policies to facilitate mobility in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in areas such as visa exemptions, the tourism minister said on Saturday (June 27) at a meeting in Macau.
“China is ready to further deepen policy coordination and facilitation measures, for example, in areas such as visa exemptions and cross-border payments,” said Sun Yeli at the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting.
The 13th ministerial meeting and the 67th meeting of the APEC Tourism Working Group began in Macau on Wednesday and ran through Sunday.
A results presentation conference with journalists was scheduled for the afternoon but was canceled without explanation just a few hours before the planned time.
Read more: Sam Hou Fai meets Chinese Tourism Minister to strengthen cooperation and Macau’s development
Still on visa policy, China’s Minister of Culture and Tourism emphasized that, “thanks to expanded visa-free travel arrangements,” the Asia-Pacific region has “ensured mutual visits” among tourists.
The APEC Secretariat’s executive director also said on Friday, in an interview with local broadcaster Macau Broadcasting Television (TDM), that he hopes the meeting will contribute to greater openness and freer tourist movement in the region.
“Everyone has a different approach to visas (…) Many different approaches are adopted, for specific reasons, or due to technological or bureaucratic considerations,” said Eduardo Pedrosa.
Regarding tourism expansion, Sun Yeli stated that the region should “empower the sector” and “embrace digital innovation”: “We must work together to deepen the integration of tourism and technology so that we can have better and larger business models for the development of the tourism industry,” he continued.
Regarding Macau – which is not a member of APEC and participates as a guest economy – Sun noted that, as an “important bridge for China’s opening up and a window for civilizational exchange,” the special administrative region “is on its way to becoming a world-class leisure and tourism destination.” “It provides us with a platform to deepen cooperation,” he said.
APEC is an economic bloc made up of 21 members, founded in 1993 with the aim of creating a free trade area among its members. More than 200 officials gathered over these days to discuss sustainable tourism development experiences and outline new pathways to explore, according to the organization.
