When Valentin Diaz Gilligan flew from Buenos Aires to Beijing for a recent tourism forum, the journey took 30 hours. Decades earlier, his great-grandparents made the same trip by ship. It took 40 days.
That contrast is what technology has done for travel, the Argentine capital's tourism chief told a big audience at the Zhongguancun International Innovation Center in Beijing's Haidian district on June 2.
Commercial aviation democratized it. Then the internet and smartphones accelerated it. Artificial intelligence and big data are the next leap, says Gilligan at the 2026 Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the Haidian district.
But, he added a caveat.
"In Buenos Aires, our difference is passion, not technology," he says."We use data to understand what Chinese tourists want versus American or Brazilian tourists. But what we never want to lose is the human warmth of welcoming every visitor."
That tension between efficiency and empathy, and algorithms and the human touch, runs through the entire discussion of how digital tools can make cross-border travel smarter without stripping away what makes it worthwhile.
Zhang Xu, vice-president of Trip.com Group, a major online travel platform headquartered in Shanghai, offers a practical framework consisting of communication, service, and operation.
The first step is knowing who you are talking to, he says.
Data from his platform show sharp differences among travelers coming to China. Europeans and Americans want cultural experiences and urban lifestyles. Southeast Asians prioritize food, shopping and short trips. Japanese and South Korean tourists tend to favor weekend leisure and live performances.
"If you don't know these differences, you cannot market effectively," Zhang says. Destinations need to turn their resources into bookable products, and do it well.
Service comes as the bigger challenge.
"Certainty is everything for international travelers," Zhang notes. A tourist needs to know their flight, hotel and tickets are confirmed before they board the plane. That certainty, he argues, is what a quality tourism platform should be positioned to provide.
Long-term thinking matters too. Launching a campaign is not enough. Destinations must track feedback, listen to consumers, and continue to improve, he points out.
"We send coupons to encourage people to come back," Zhang says. But the real goal, he adds, is building trust.
Beyond the framework, Trip.com has rolled out concrete tools for inbound travelers. The company has set up service counters at major airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Chengdu, Sichuan province, offering travel guides and local assistance. Multilingual ticketing machines at scenic spots across China now help foreign visitors buy tickets and process refunds without language barriers.
Last year, the Shanghai-based travel agency opened an AI-powered restaurant, Taste of China, where screens wrap around the room and the system learns diners' preferences. A second branch is opening in Beijing this year.
The restaurant is not a gimmick, Zhang says.
It is an experiment in how technology can enhance — not replace — the experience of sharing a meal, he explains.
Zhang's emphasis on service was echoed across the panel.
Soon-Hwa Wong, the Pacific Asia Travel Association's ambassador for Greater China, offers a systematic take. "The real opportunity lies in balancing high-tech with high-touch," he says.
"Technology should empower, not replace."
Wong points to Singapore's upcoming Terminal 5 at Changi Airport — designed not just for greater capacity but for future pandemics, automated passenger flow, and seamless connections between air, land and city transport.
Smart tourism is not just about solving today's problems but also about anticipating tomorrow's needs, Wong says.
Christopher Cocker, chief executive of the Pacific Tourism Organization, points to a five-year digital transformation project with the New Zealand government that has raised digital skills in the region from 50 to 79 percent and understanding of sustainable tourism from 29 to 64 percent.
But he says that AI will never replace humans. "Tourism is a people business."
Speaking on behalf of 20 small island nations, he emphasizes that smart connectivity must be inclusive.
"If it works for large destinations, it should work for small ones too. Leave no one behind."
Todd Barberel, general manager of destination marketing and communications for Wellington, agrees with Cocker.
"People want to deal with people. Tools matter. But at the core, it is always about people."
Since China Eastern Airlines launched direct flights between China and Argentina last year, Chinese arrivals in Buenos Aires have grown by 50 percent. Gilligan attributes that not just to flight routes but to understanding what each market wants — and that understanding comes from data.
But data, he insists, is only part of the equation. The rest is a city's ability to make a visitor feel genuinely welcome. "That is what brings them back," he says.
Zhang Xu says that it should be every travel service provider's top priority to make someone feel welcome in a country they do not know.
"Sometimes an inbound traveler just needs someone to point them to the right train," he says.
"That is not big data. That is a person helping another person. You know what really brings people back? Not a coupon. A memory."
