Minutes after stepping off an international flight at Beijing Daxing International Airport, overseas visitors can buy a local SIM card, link a foreign bank card to Alipay, pick up a public transport pass and ask for directions in their own language.
For Wang Qiang, deputy general manager of the airport's aviation business department, those services are about more than convenience.
"We want tourists to experience Chinese and Beijing culture the moment they land," he says. "The key is to help them feel comfortable and informed from the start, so they want to come back."
Increasingly, airports are no longer being viewed solely as transportation infrastructure. They are becoming the first chapter of the travel experience.
That idea sat at the heart of a discussion on aviation-tourism integration during the Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit of the World Tourism Cities Federation in June, where industry leaders from China and abroad explored how airlines, airports and tourism operators can work together to create a more seamless journey for international visitors.
The conversation comes as China seeks to capitalize on a strong rebound in inbound tourism.
According to the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, China welcomed 82 million international visitors in 2025, up 26.4 percent year-on-year. Travel service exports reached a record $55.2 billion, an increase of 49 percent year-on-year and 1.6 times that of 2019.
The shift also reflects a broader national strategy.
In December 2025, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Administration of China jointly issued an action plan calling for deeper integration between aviation and tourism. The plan aims to significantly improve travel services by 2027 and create a more connected experience for international and domestic travelers alike.
For Wang, the airport's role has fundamentally changed.
"Airports used to be defined as transportation infrastructure: getting passengers from one place to another, safely and on time. That's it," he told summit participants."But now, the airport has become the traveler's first impression of the city — and sometimes the last."
Daxing, the starfish-shaped airport, which opened in 2019, has steadily expanded its tourism-oriented services.
In January 2025, it launched the "Beijing Service" counter in the international arrivals area, offering more than 20 services ranging from SIM card registration and transportation cards to mobile payment assistance for overseas travelers.
The airport has also introduced AI-powered visual translation devices capable of real-time interpretation in eight languages and expanded its "three-way call" language service, which connects frontline staff members with translation students from Beijing Foreign Studies University.
