Shanghai Today
Shanghai reshaping the global tourism map - May 28, 2025
上海重塑全球旅游版图
With Spanish tourists exclaiming "discovering the Eastern Venice" on a rowing boat in Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, and German backpackers searching for the essence of everyday life in shikumen (stone-gated) houses, Shanghai is reshaping the global tourism map with its unique cultural appeal.
Over 3,000 tourism representatives from 74 countries and regions gathered in the city on Monday to discuss the future of global tourism, sustainable development of inbound tourism to China, and tourism technology innovation.
They attended the third Envision 2025 Global Partner Conference, hosted by leading global travel services provider Trip.com Group, which showcased the company's strategy to reshape global tourism through innovation and sustainable growth. It was the largest international tourism conference in China in recent years.
Envision 2025 Global Partner Conference gathered over 3,000 tourism representatives from 74 countries and regions.
In the first quarter of this year, inbound tourism bookings on Trip.com surged by around 100 percent year-on-year, the conference heard.
Its inbound tourist orders surged by 130 percent year-on-year during the five-day May Day holiday with Shanghai topping the list of popular destinations.
In the first quarter of 2025, 1.7 million tourists arrived in the city, a 37.08 percent year-on-year increase.
Notably, there has been a strategic breakthrough in the source of tourists. While traditional key markets such as South Korea, Japan and Thailand continued to perform well, European and American tourists showed explosive growth, becoming a more common sight at attractions like the Bund and Yuyuan Garden.
Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, delivers a speech.
Data shows that from January to March this year, the US, Canada, the UK and France ranked in the top 10 list for overnight tourists in Shanghai.
"Currently, Shanghai is fully committed to becoming China's first stop for inbound tourism through optimizing the tourism environment, enhancing service quality and expanding international cooperation," said Yang Jing, director of the publicity and promotion department of the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.
"Regarding a tourist-friendly environment, we have established multilingual tourist information centers, implemented convenient payment systems, optimized instant tax refund services, provided multilingual signage and guided tours at attractions," she added.
Shanghai is a popular destination for inbound travelers.
More foreign payment POS machines and multilingual signboards and menus in the city reflect its efforts in boosting inbound tourism. Trip.com, based in Shanghai, has seized the opportunity to further its development in inbound tourism.
Its overseas platform has accumulated 100 million overseas users so far.
"Our inbound travel increased more than 100 percent, thanks to the relaxation of the visa policy," said Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group. "We will work hard to deepen our partnership with global partners to reach out to more customers around the world and bring them to China."
"I've noticed more China Travel promotions on Trip.com and my friends and I are quite interested," said Anayet Kobir, who runs a family hotel in Bangladesh and is a Trip.com user and global partner. It was his first visit to Shanghai.
Foreign travelers explore tasty Chinese delicacies.
"China never stops to amaze me, it is great to be back," said Florian Sengstschmid, CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board. "It's great to explore Shanghai and get the vibrancy of the city."
"Trip.com's market expansion in Azerbaijan has not only introduced more people to the charm of Chinese tourism but also attracted Azerbaijani tourism investors to China to look for partners," he added.
At the conference, Trip.com unveiled a number of new measures to further fuel China's inbound tourism.
It joined with 10 domestic destinations and five overseas tour organizers to build a "two-way service hub" to support China's inbound tourism strategy.
Trip.com Group unveiled the Tourism Innovation Fund, an initiative estimated around US$100 million designed to spark the next wave of breakthroughs in travel.
The fund aims to support commercial innovation and groundbreaking ideas that reshape how people move, connect and explore the world.
It has developed a unique travel assistant – Trip Genie. Foreign tourists who can't read Chinese menus can take photos and ask Trip Genie to translate. When shopping in Chinese stores, tourists can communicate with Trip Genie in their native language, and Trip Genie will display the Chinese translation to shop assistants. It can also recommend local attractions and food based on tourists' preferences.
Source: Shanghai Daily
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