'Shanghai Summer' Intl Consumption Season to attract more inbound travelers

The 2026 "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season, which has entered its third edition this year, will come up with more new scenarios and further improve its services to attract more inbound travelers, officials and industry experts attending the event's launch ceremony on Friday said.

Yuan Xiaoming, assistant minister of commerce, said that attracting consumption from inbound travelers will be one major feature of this year's event, with the ties between businesses, tourism, cultural activities and sports further strengthened.

Shanghai's open business environment and regional advantage are conducive to the creation of new consumption scenarios. This will not only help overseas consumers better experience Shanghai's vitality but also provide valuable lessons for other regions in the country, Yuan said at the launch ceremony.

Scheduled from July to October, including the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, this year's event will feature several benchmark sports activities, including the 2026 Rolex Shanghai Masters — a top ATP 1000 tennis event and the 2026 Motocross World Championship Shanghai leg.

Cui Jian, deputy head of the General Administration of Sport of China, said key sports events can serve as an important magnet for international tourists, which can further translate into incremental consumption in the city. New business models and scenarios can be created in Shanghai to provide more options for inbound travelers, he said.

Services provided to inbound travelers, including travel, accommodation, catering, electronic facilitation, payment and tax, will be further upgraded to make overseas visitors' stay and shopping experiences in Shanghai more amiable, Liu Min, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said.

HiChina, the all-in-one travel app for international visitors to China, will optimize its full-range services during visitors' stay in Shanghai. Navigation app Amap will integrate Shanghai's distinctive shopping destinations into travel itineraries in a natural way, according to Liu.

Easy Go, a digital platform jointly launched by the municipal government and Alipay last year to enhance the travel experience for international visitors, will be upgraded by incorporating artificial intelligence to accurately identify user commands in multiple languages and provide digital and intelligent services such as ride-hailing, ticket booking, and translation, Liu said.

A "mobile processing" platform for departure tax refunds will be introduced, allowing inbound travelers to handle tax refund shopping invoices, instant refunds upon purchases, customs verification and port tax refunds on their mobile phones, she added.

Shanghai Pass — a multi-purpose prepaid card for inbound travelers introduced last year — has come up with a QR code product this year, which covers 150 art galleries and museums across the city, Sun Yao, general manager of Shanghai City Tour Card Co Ltd, said.

Overseas travelers can apply for the digital service prior to their trips to Shanghai so that they can make purchases once they arrive in the city. Apart from using Shanghai's transportation with the Shanghai Pass, the card can also connect to public transportation services in more than 300 cities across the country, she said.

According to Chu Xiaobo, director of the Shanghai Museum, overseas travelers now make up at least 10 percent of the museum's visitors throughout the year. The interest in visiting China has continued to rise — a passion fueled by the visa-free policy. Travelers to Shanghai usually visit neighboring cities, helping to boost consumption in a wider region, he said.

Nicolas Willemot, global head of the consumer products practice at the consulting firm Bain & Co, said Shanghai now features the combination of local cultural elements such as Shikumen architecture style and consumption. It helps to amplify the heritage in specific cues and differentiate the city from other international metropolises.

Meanwhile, Shanghai's high efficiency has made the so-called 10-minute business circle possible, which has helped to boost instant retailing, he added.