City offers a warm welcome to summer travelers

The city is ready to welcome visitors from home and abroad as the summer holidays begin.

A three-month "Shanghai Summer" program will run through mid October, with the city hosting night sessions at museums and art galleries, sports viewing activities, flower markets and many more events.

"Shanghai is the gateway and a major hub for international travelers which is highly attractive for domestic and international travelers, and the recent visa-free policies for selected overseas countries have provided favorable conditions for Shanghai to better attract inbound tourists and boost consumption," Shanghai Commerce Commission director Zhu Min told a press conference on Tuesday.

The city will host more than 60 concerts, music festivals, cultural and art performances, and major sports events which would attract large numbers of visitors from home and abroad.

Meanwhile, a number of initiatives have been put in place to attract inbound travelers during the summer season. The city's Bailian Group is issuing a free gift card which overseas passport holders can collect on arrival at major shopping destinations.

In the first five months this year, the combined sales value for tax return shopping at Bailian's major shopping malls, outlets and department stores jumped more than two times from the same period a year ago.

Retail shopping at Bailian Group's stores and shopping malls will also be combined with a wide range of leisure activities, sports events and exhibitions by joining with Jinjiang Group, Just Sports and local events and exhibition organizer Donghao Lansheng Group Co.

City walk guides and day-tour packages will also be unveiled for cruise travelers.

The major initiative has been put forward by the city government to coincide with the peak travel season, and features the integration of cultural attractions, tourism, shopping and exhibitions.

As many as 70,000 ATMs will be deployed in the city to support foreign card payment by the end of September, with the number of small change wallets for those to pay in cash would reach 500,000 by then, according to deputy director Liu Min at the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

As many as 500 luggage deposit points at major commercial areas will be in place by the end of July.

At the same time, the city will pursue innovative consumption scenarios for cruise travelers and build an international hub for cruise traveling and consumption, while the interaction between the Shanghai International Cruise Port and other major cruise terminals around the world will also be further strengthened.

The Shanghai International Light Festival from September to October will feature activities from architectural projection shows to light art installation exhibitions.

You can find the list of Shanghai Summer activities on the digital platform of the city's consumption promotion campaign. You may find the platform by search the "I Go Shanghai愛購上海" mini program on WeChat.