Speaking at the 13th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Macao on 27 June, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law unveiled a “+ Tourism” strategy that puts artificial-intelligence tools at the centre of the city’s post-pandemic visitor economy. She told counterparts that Hong Kong received almost 50 million arrivals in 2025, a 12 percent jump, and is now integrating live-queue data, personalised itinerary builders and smart-payment functions into the official ‘Discover Hong Kong’ platform. Law highlighted trials that push real-time crowd levels from major attractions to tourists’ phones—technology that can smooth peak flows at border checkpoints and subway interchanges. The Hong Kong Tourism Board is also piloting an AI trip-planner that will fuse airline, hotel and events data to propose carbon-optimised routes—of interest to corporates measuring Scope-3 emissions from staff travel.
![Tourism chief touts AI-powered visitor services at APEC ministerial]()
Travellers keen to experience these innovations should remember that seamless journeys start with the right paperwork; VisaHQ can handle Hong Kong visa requirements end-to-end through its digital portal, letting leisure visitors and MICE delegates upload documents, track applications and get expert support in one place. Check the specifics at https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
Beyond gadgets, the secretary cited infrastructure wins such as the Kai Tak Sports Park and the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, which are expected to host more than 240 mega-events this year, from global esports finals to art-tech festivals. These venues, she said, dovetail with the government’s expanded MICE incentives that refund up to 50 percent of eligible event expenses for organisers who source locally. APEC ministers adopted a communiqué calling for interoperable digital-health passes and seamless immigration clearance—areas where Hong Kong’s e-Channel and upcoming “seamless” biometric corridor at the Zhuhai-Macao Bridge were cited as models. With passenger flows in Asia-Pacific projected to double by 2030, smart-border capabilities could give Hong Kong a competitive edge over regional hubs courting the same conferences and corporate retreats. Take-away for mobility managers: anticipate richer APIs from the Tourism Board later this year that can be embedded into corporate travel apps, offering employees Japan-style route suggestions and push alerts on crowd conditions—features that boost duty-of-care compliance while enhancing traveller satisfaction.
Travellers keen to experience these innovations should remember that seamless journeys start with the right paperwork; VisaHQ can handle Hong Kong visa requirements end-to-end through its digital portal, letting leisure visitors and MICE delegates upload documents, track applications and get expert support in one place. Check the specifics at https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
Beyond gadgets, the secretary cited infrastructure wins such as the Kai Tak Sports Park and the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, which are expected to host more than 240 mega-events this year, from global esports finals to art-tech festivals. These venues, she said, dovetail with the government’s expanded MICE incentives that refund up to 50 percent of eligible event expenses for organisers who source locally. APEC ministers adopted a communiqué calling for interoperable digital-health passes and seamless immigration clearance—areas where Hong Kong’s e-Channel and upcoming “seamless” biometric corridor at the Zhuhai-Macao Bridge were cited as models. With passenger flows in Asia-Pacific projected to double by 2030, smart-border capabilities could give Hong Kong a competitive edge over regional hubs courting the same conferences and corporate retreats. Take-away for mobility managers: anticipate richer APIs from the Tourism Board later this year that can be embedded into corporate travel apps, offering employees Japan-style route suggestions and push alerts on crowd conditions—features that boost duty-of-care compliance while enhancing traveller satisfaction.
