Beijing reinvents the visitor experience

Growing interest

The inbound tourism conference was designed not only to showcase new experiences, but also to convert growing interest into commercial opportunities.

Before arriving in Beijing, overseas buyers and Chinese tourism companies conducted more than 3,000 online matchmaking sessions through a dedicated business platform. During the event, more than 150 Chinese enterprises participated in face-to-face negotiations.

Rather than confining discussions to conference halls, organizers moved many exchanges directly into tourism sites and experience venues.

Travel buyers visited destinations ranging from rural guesthouses in Huairou district to digital entertainment attractions at Shougang Park.

Haitham Ebady, a travel industry representative from Saudi Arabia, described Beijing as a city where history, culture and nature coexist.

"If I were to give advice to tourists coming to China, they must come to Beijing," he says. "They can find everything they are looking for here."

Beijing welcomed 5.48 million inbound visitor trips in 2025, generating more than 50.5 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in tourism revenue.

Officials say the next stage of growth will depend not only on attracting more visitors, but also on encouraging them to stay longer, spend more, and engage more deeply with the city.

Many overseas buyers appeared eager to bring the newly developed tourism products back to their home markets.

Among them was Marco Peci, marketing and sales manager of Italy-based Mistral Tour International, who first visited Beijing in 1995.

At the time, he recalls, finding a suitable hotel or a reliable restaurant could be challenging for foreign visitors.

Three decades later, he sees a very different destination.

"There are a lot of new ideas here in Beijing to bring to the market," he says. "This is the right place to learn about them."

Peci plans to introduce some of the new tourism products and experiences to Italian travelers in the coming months.

When he first arrived in Beijing three decades ago, navigating the city could be a challenge. This time, he left with a notebook full of new tourism products, new business contacts and new ideas for the Italian market.