PATA and Visa Partner for China SME Tourism Program
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), in collaboration with PATA’s Premier Partner Visa, will host a capacity-building training in Beijing, China this week to support small and medium-sized travel and tourism enterprises (SMEs). This workshop aims to equip businesses with practical knowledge to improve their digital visibility, enhance their international payment readiness, and better serve inbound travellers.
This marks the first time the Association brings its SME capacity-building programme to China, continuing a long-standing collaboration with Visa. Since 2023, similar workshops – focused on providing necessary practical business digitalization and financial management skills for tourism SMEs – have been held in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The latest edition of the programme will build on this foundation, while tailoring the content to the unique opportunities and challenges facing Chinese tourism businesses today.
While China leads the world in mobile payment adoption and digital innovation, many international travellers still encounter difficulties when trying to pay using their foreign-issued cards. This particular training will introduce accessible, secure, and visitor-friendly payment solutions to help close this gap and provide a more seamless travel experience that benefits both the travellers and travel businesses.
Moreover, by covering key inbound tourism data and spending insights, the programme is set to help SMEs better understand the preferences and behaviours of international travellers. Participants will further gain actionable strategies in digital marketing to strengthen their competitiveness in both domestic and global markets.
“The Association has always strived to support the recovery and long-term resilience of tourism SMEs. With Visa, who has been our partner on this journey from the start, we are delighted to bring this training to China for the very first time,” said PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid.
“Through the in-depth training sessions we have put together for this occasion, local businesses will be empowered with the tools required to enhance the digital transformation of their operations and become well-positioned to attract international travellers.”
Along with the support of Visa, the training is made possible through collaboration with local and regional partners, including, the China Tourism Association, the China Tourism Academy, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the World Tourism Cities Federation Committee of Tourism-Related Business, the Beijing Culture and Tourism Association, and Dragon Trail International.
Xiaolong Yin, Vice President and General Manager of Visa Mainland China said, “We are honored to partner with PATA to host this training. This is another initiative following the launch of the Visa-CUP Zone for Beijing Central Axis in March this year, which enables Beijing as ‘China’s Top Destination for Inbound Tourism’. This is also part of Visa’s 20-city tourism SMBs empowerment campaign. To help SMBs seize the business opportunities brought by the booming inbound tourism, Visa actively introduces innovative and low-cost payment solutions that align with the payment habits of foreign tourists, such as scan-to-pay and tap-to-pay, helping small businesses improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.”
The training will welcome participants from across the tourism sector, including accommodation providers, travel agencies, tour operators, restaurants, and attractions.
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