Cover Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
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Visa's Chief Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific, Danielle Jin, on the passion economy reshaping how the world's wealthy travel, and why Thailand has become the region's proving ground for what luxury looks like next
On a warm evening in Bangkok's Song Wat, the old shophouses along the river glow with a mix of century-old signage and newly hung neon, heritage grocers standing shoulder to shoulder with third-wave coffee bars and design studios. It is exactly the kind of neighbourhood Danielle Jin, Visa's Chief Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific, likes to point to when she talks about where luxury travel is heading. Not a five-star lobby. Not a private jet terminal. A street where old and new sit comfortably together, and where a visitor's only real task is to be present in it.
"For a foreign traveller stepping into such a dynamic neighbourhood, being able to pay effortlessly allows them to focus entirely on enjoying the culture around them," Jin says of the area, home to Visa's ‘Feel So Thai at Song Wat’ campaign, which has worked with more than 50 local merchants — many new to digital payments — to make that immersion frictionless. It is a small, specific example of a much larger shift Jin has spent her career tracking: the move from luxury as possession to luxury as experience, and from status symbols to self-expression.
"Historically, consumption was centred around possession and status symbols," she explains. "Today, it is fundamentally about identity. People want to invest their time, wealth, and energy into expressing who they truly are and what they are passionate about." Jin calls this the passion economy — an economy that moves not with supply and demand alone, but with the energy and emotions that drive people to spend and travel for what they care about.
Above Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
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The Border Crossers
Nowhere is this clearer than in how people now travel. "Travel, for instance, used to be driven by a desire to visit popular places simply because everyone else was going," Jin says. "Today, it is highly personalised. It is about following your heart." Music, sport and fandom have become the new engines of movement: according to research by Visa, 66% of Asia Pacific consumers say they would travel explicitly for a concert, and more than half would cross a border for a sporting event.
The scale of this can be startling. During the 2025 Hong Kong presale for the MAMA Awards, nearly 90% of overseas ticket buyers had not visited the city in the previous year. Visa saw a similar pattern with the BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR <DEADLINE>, where the same proportion of foreign ticket buyers were first-time visitors to the country — people who came for an artist, not a place, and ended up filling restaurants, taxis and hotel rooms regardless. "When people travel for their passions, they trigger a real economic boom for local restaurants, fashion, and hospitality," Jin says, noting that Taylor Swift's Singapore run followed the same script, and that upcoming BTS tour dates are likely to repeat it.
Above Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
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"We do not just facilitate transactions, we help people participate in experiences that are meaningful to them.”
First, Best, Only
Ask Jin to compress her philosophy into something portable, and she offers three words: First, Best, Only. "'First' means being able to experience a moment or a space before anyone else does," she says. "'Best' signifies accessing the absolute pinnacle of quality within a category, and 'Only' represents a completely rare, hyper-personalised opportunity tailored exclusively for you."
It's a mindset that has quietly reshaped Visa's affluent strategy, moving beyond traditional perks towards meaningful access and experiences. That philosophy sits at the heart of Visa's reimagined Visa Infinite platform, designed around the passions that increasingly shape affluent lifestyles, from Travel & Exploration and Dining & Gastronomy to Sports, Arts & Entertainment, and Wellness & Renewal.
An area where this philosophy shines through is in Infinite Tastes: Beyond the Menu, a new chef-led culinary program that is about giving affluent consumers access to the best food the world has to offer, but also so much more. It delivers curated experiences designed by chefs themselves – be it unique menus, personal storytelling, or interactive dining moments that let cardholders hear directly from chefs about what goes behind the dishes they love the most.
For Visa Infinite cardholders, that means access to experiences built around the passions that increasingly shape affluent lifestyles, from travel and dining to wellness, sports, arts and culture.
"We do not just facilitate transactions," Jin says. "We help people participate in experiences that are meaningful to them.”
Above Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
Danielle Jin, Visa’s chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific (Photo: Worapon Teerawatvijit)
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The Thailand Advantage
Underneath all of this sits a practical concern: for any of it to work, the money has to move invisibly. "Statistics show that Nearly 30% of international travellers research payment-related information before they travel, underscoring how important trust and acceptance are to the overall journey.," Jin says — a number that explains why Visa treats payment friction as a threat to the whole experience, not a back-office detail.
It's also, Jin says, why Thailand was chosen as the country where 'Visa Destinations' would launch first — not just in Asia Pacific, but globally at a country level. "Thailand occupies an extraordinarily special position," she says. "It is historically rich, yet beautifully contemporary and dynamic." Around two-thirds of traveller spending in the kingdom already comes from visitors outside Asia, a scale of international draw Jin says made the choice an easy one.
"Whether it is world-class concerts, the unparalleled warmth and friendliness of the people, the breathtaking arts, the vibrant fashion scene, or the renowned culinary and wellness culture — Thailand offers everything," she says. "It perfectly bridges tradition with an avant-garde lifestyle." For Jin, that combination — old streets like Song Wat sitting comfortably next to something entirely new — isn't just good marketing copy. It's the clearest picture she has of where luxury travel in this region is actually going.
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Credits
Location: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
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Natthawut Saengchuwong, the Bangkok-based Editor-in-Chief for Tatler Thailand and Tatler GMT, previously shaped GQ Thailand. Beyond the editorial world, he meticulously curates an enviable lifestyle, marked by his exquisite record collection, refined home decor, and tranquil garden pursuits.
