APEC Tourism Ministers in Macau Highlight Digital Innovation and Collaboration

The 13th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting was held on Saturday in the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR), discussing the utilisation of digital innovation and deeper collaboration. Under the theme ‘Digital Innovation, Collaborative Empowerment: Leveraging Tourism for an Asia-Pacific Community’, heads of tourism authorities from the 21 APEC economies gathered to exchange views on the role of digital and smart technologies in driving tourism and spurring socio-economic growth. They also identified priority areas for implementing digital innovation across the sector. The tourism sector is one of the main drivers of regional economic growth, delegates said, adding that it is supported by strong fundamentals, untapped potential, and promising long-term prospects. Highlighting that the tourism ministerial meeting is a key component of APEC’s ‘China Year’, delegates stated the meeting would mark a new starting point for deepening tourism cooperation among APEC member economies. As part of the ministerial meeting, the 67th APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting was held from Wednesday to Thursday in the Macau SAR. China, as host of APEC 2026, will hold the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, this November. Around 300 APEC-related meetings and events will take place in various cities across China throughout the year.