【Summit Review】Empower Tourism Facilitation, Usher in a New Era of Seamless Cross-Border Travel

During the WTCF Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2026, a special forum on tourism facilitation themed “Seamless Travel, Worry — free Journeys” was held. The forum brought together representatives of cultural and tourism enterprises from home and abroad to conduct in-depth discussions on key areas including customs clearance optimization, payment services, inbound supporting facilities and cross-border cooperation. It explored viable solutions to deliver full-process convenient cross-border travel, pooled industry consensus and put forward practical plans for upgrading and expanding global cross-border tourism in the new era.

Wang Ya, Deputy General Manager at Beijing Branch, Bank of China, pointed out that China’s widely adopted QR code payment system is inconsistent with the payment habits of overseas visitors, which compromises their travel experience in China. To address this gap, Bank of China has established a tiered, all-scenario payment service system. The bank has expanded acceptance of foreign bank cards for large-value transactions at key foreign-related venues, collaborated with leading payment service providers to enable nationwide small-sum QR payments with overseas bank cards, and provided cash backup services via multi-lingual, multi-currency exchange machines across extensive outlets. It has also innovated an all-in-one integrated service product that combines payment, communication and transportation functions to make up for deficiencies in inbound travel support. According to Wang Ya, to deliver truly hassle-free cross-border travel, a multi-dimensional payment system covering card swiping, QR scanning and cash backup must be established, alongside complete supporting travel services, so as to fully eliminate consumption barriers for inbound visitors and realize seamless cross-border journeys.

Franka Gulin, Chair of the China Chapter, European Travel Commission; Director of the Shanghai Representative Office, Croatian National Tourist Board, noted that group sightseeing tours used to be the mainstream way for Chinese tourists to travel to Europe. Yet the cross-border tourism market has undergone profound changes following its recovery, with small-scale independent travel surging rapidly. Modern tourists increasingly favor premium, customized, in-depth travel experiences featuring longer itineraries and high cost-performance. Croatia’s cultural and tourism sector extends a warm welcome to Chinese visitors and has developed special tourism products tailored to their preferences. She observed that Chinese travelers to Europe now display dual tendencies: they are drawn to world-famous classic destinations while actively exploring off-the-beaten-path niche travel routes. Franka Gulin stated that for seamless cross-border travel, European destinations must keep pace with the rising popularity of independent and customized in-depth tours. They need to balance basic travel guarantees, diversified product development and sustainable tourism development, and continuously upgrade services centered on tourist demands to cater to the increasingly diverse Chinese outbound travel market.

Ralf Ostendorf, Director of Marketing Management, visitBerlin, shared the current landscape of Europe’s cross-border tourism, emerging travel trends among Chinese visitors and pathways to boost European tourism facilitation. He said young Chinese travelers now prioritize immersive, unhurried and personalized in-depth experiences over rushed multi-city check-in trips. They tend to linger in a single destination for immersive stays and value emotional fulfillment and premium travel quality. Boasting stable direct air routes, streamlined border policies, comprehensive infrastructure, a safe living environment and cost-effective travel offerings, Berlin has emerged as a premier gateway for Chinese tourists exploring Central Europe. Ralph Ostendorf proposed that to achieve hassle-free travel in the future, destinations should align with tourists’ demand for slow-paced in-depth leisure. They need to consolidate hardware infrastructure such as transport and security systems, leverage smart mobility technologies to optimize services, and improve cross-border travel experience through coordinated upgrades of hardware and software to unlock the full potential of the global cultural tourism market.

Andreas Spycher, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Mastercard, elaborated on how payment facilitation fuels cross-border tourism by drawing on the industry’s developmental trajectory. He argued that travel bridges cultural divides, and the evolution of payment methods directly shapes overseas visitors’ travel quality. The advent of online air ticketing, OTA platforms and all-in-one super apps has overturned the traditional cash-based group tour model, making independent in-depth travel the mainstream and driving upgrades to inbound supporting services. China boasts mature 5G infrastructure and widespread QR code coverage, creating a safe, convenient cashless consumption ecosystem across all commercial scenarios. Mastercard has strengthened partnerships with local Chinese institutions to expand acceptance coverage of foreign bank cards and facilitate localized consumption for international visitors. Andreas Spycher emphasized that convenient payment serves as the fundamental underpinning of seamless cross-border travel. Financial institutions worldwide should deepen cross-border collaboration to build secure digital payment networks and expand all-scenario acceptance channels. Catering to the booming independent travel trend, frictionless consumption experiences will drive high-quality development of cross-border tourism.