Shanghai’s legislators and advisors have come together to discuss strategies to generate greater tourism in one of China's biggest cities.
More than 2.2 million inbound foreign visitors came to Shanghai in the first half of 2024, up 191.5% year-on-year, according to the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
Trip.com data also revealed a surge in travel to China by European nationals in 2024, with Shanghai “solidifying its status as a premier travel destination for European tourists'' said Jane McFadzean, senior director of destination marketing at Trip.com Group.
The city has set plans to become a leader in tourism by enhancing the visitor experience and better integrating its wealth of culture, art and sport into its tourism strategy to attract even more international tourists.
"We are striving to make Shanghai accessible to tourists from around the globe," said Zhang Qi, deputy-director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.
At the recent municipal political consultation session, it was announced that the city would increase the supply of multilingual paper maps.
Yu Qingrong, a member of the 14th Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said the unique strategy has the potential to support foreign tourists especially those who may be unfamiliar with or have limited access to modern translation tools.
Additionally, he expects the maps to act as a cultural and creative element in addition to being an informative tool for tourists.
Updating and enhancing the city's official websites and apps to refer to both local and international media and highlighting the latest tourism recommendations of Shanghai's attractions and consumption venues is also set to become a key part of the new strategy.
The city also plans to leverage its already existing tourism attractions such as the Shanghai Tourism Festival, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Formula 1 Shanghai Grand Prix (which returned in 2024), and the Shanghai Marathon.
It's estimated that international visitors spend an average of 3,500 yuan (US$477) in the city with Shanghai's tourism revenue in 2023 reaching US$6.19 billion.
This push comes as Shanghai has recently gained popularity with South Korean tourists thanks to China’s 240-hour transit visa-free policy making travel more accessible for the neighbouring country.
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