Tourism bouncing back in Shanghai

Tourism in Shanghai is enjoying a rebound as the city has brought the current COVID-19 wave under control.

Since June 1, a batch of grade-A scenic spots in the city have been allowed to reopen after a two-month shutdown due to the pandemic.

These sites should be outdoors or have more than 50 percent of their tourism facilities outdoors, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Indoor tourist attractions such as museums and theaters will resume operations when the pandemic situation further improves, the authorities said.

The visitor number is capped at 75 percent of the venues' maximum capacity. Meanwhile, visitors must make reservations online, undergo body temperature checks, and present a green health QR code as well as a negative nucleic acid test result taken within 72 hours prior to entry.

To attract more visitors, some scenic spots are free for a number of days or have special offers. Online travel agencies also provided coupons and discount tour packages.

Data from online travel platform Ctrip showed that on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, held from June 3-5, more than 40 scenic spots in Shanghai resumed operations, with ticket sales reaching 40,000, equivalent to 28 tickets sold per minute.

Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park, Shanghai Zoo, and Oriental Pearl Tower, one of the city's iconic skyscrapers, were among the top 10 most popular destinations during the holiday, according to Ctrip.

"He is very excited to watch these animals and get close to nature after staying at home for a long time," said a resident surnamed Wang who toured Shanghai Zoo with his 5-year-old son. According to official data, the zoo received 23,170 visits over the holiday.

Camping trips became a favored choice among locals as numerous campsites in the suburbs have reopened to the public. As of June 3, Shanghai ranked second in the country in terms of camping orders for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, behind only Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Ctrip said.

The renowned attraction Shanghai Disney Resort reopened some establishments on Friday including Wishing Star Park, the World of Disney Store and Blue Sky Boulevard. All facilities available will operate at reduced hours and limited capacity, while fully implementing pandemic prevention and control measures, the resort said on its official WeChat account.

Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and the two resort hotels remain closed pending further notice, it added.

Shanghai is now home to 134 grade-A tourism spots, more than 6,000 hotels and about 10,000 tourism enterprises.

The city government released a slew of measures at the end of last month to help the tourism sector recover and promote its high-quality development. These include tax relief, rent reductions, financial subsidies and extensions on insurance payments.