Zhou in driving seat of tourism campaign

Local Zhou Guanyu, China's first Formula One driver, was appointed "Shanghai Global Tourism Ambassador" on Sunday, delivering a strong boost to the city's inbound tourism development.

The city launched the "Visit Shanghai" campaign to fuel its inbound tourism market at the end of last year, and seven foreign friends from the Netherlands, Germany (two), Malaysia, Spain, Italy, and France have received the appointment by the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Zhou is the latest to join the team, delivering a warm invitation to travelers from across the globe to appreciate Shanghai's unique charm.

Since the campaign was launched, the city has been put in the fast lane as the first stop in China for inbound travelers.

This year, diversified activities including grand festivals, exhibitions, and sports events are being staged in the city, becoming a "golden card" promoting the city's image and "accelerator" luring international travelers, the administration said.

Ti Gong

The ongoing F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2024 has drawn wide attention from home and abroad.

In total, 200,000 tickets were available for sales in two rounds, and all were sold out within one hour for each round. Overseas audiences accounted for about 20 percent of the event and 80 percent were outside Shanghai, hitting a record in F1 Chinese Grand Prix's history.

As a Shanghai-born F1 driver, Zhou wore a helmet featuring a number of Shanghai elements including pictures of the landmark Yuyuan Garden, Waibaidu Bridge, and skyscrapers of Lujiazui. It also bears the routes of Shanghai's Metro system.

"I want to show these elements to the world," said Zhou. "As a driver from Shanghai, I hope to show China's racing development to the world, and that more young Chinese drivers will appear at the intentional arena."

After the appointment, Zhou will promote the city via his international influence and attract more tourists from home and abroad to the city.

"Shanghai is not only an important window showcasing Chinese culture to the world, but also a strategic link of the domestic and international dual circulation," noted Fang Shizhong, deputy director of the city's publicity department, Party secretary and director general of the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.

"Making Shanghai the first stop in China for inbound travelers is the top priority of the city's culture and tourism industry.

"We look forward to amplifying the global narrative, promoting Shanghai's international tourism image to the world, making the city an alluring destination for global travelers and attracting them to take in-depth tours in Shanghai to experience its modern, magic and miracle side."

The administration said it would step up efforts based on the campaign to launch a series of promotion materials, videos and marketing activities.

It would also use "MEET IN SHANGHAI," the city's multi-lingual cultural and tourism promotion portal and international social media accounts to show its cultural, trendy and international metropolitan lifestyle to the world.