New visa-free policies further boost Shanghai's inbound tourism

Foreign tourists visit Holiland Travel for augmented reality outer space travel experience at the Shanghai Super Brand Mall. (Photo by Li Junfeng/chinadaily.com.cn)

Shanghai has recently seen a spike in international visits as the nation extended its visa-free policies for nine more countries, including South Korea, in November.

The city's most well-known commercial malls and streets have been crowded with consumers from South Korea, Japan, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, according to senior management of various malls.

"The number of foreign tourists at the Shanghai Super Brand Mall has increased by more than 30 percent compared to the same period in 2023," said Zhou Jiaxuan, the CEO of Charoen Pokphand Group's commercial real estate innovation division.

Located at the bustling East Nanjing Road, the Shanghai No 1 Shopping Center is also seeing a surge in international tourists, particularly its food chain enterprises, such as Long Time Ago and Haidilao, specialized, respectively, in lamb barbecue and hot pot.

"Since the end of last year, international consumers, led by Koreans, increased by about 60 percent compared to the average number before that," said Hu Zhenjiang, the manager of Long Time Ago at the mall.

Hu added that customers are lining up almost from the beginning to the end of business at his restaurant.

"We served 100 to 150 Koreans daily since January, accounting for about 15 percent of our customers," said Mu Huafei, the manager of Haidilao at the mall.

Besides food chains, INS Park, a 20,000-square-meter entertainment complex founded in 2023, and Shushu/Tong, a Shanghai-based fashion label established in 2015, are reporting the same experience as well.

"The number of foreign tourists visiting our complex has grown by 20 percent since December," said Wen Haoming, the investment and operation director of INS Park, a six-floor amusement land that combines an esports arena with six nightclubs, a range of restaurants and a comedy club.

Meanwhile, the operation manager of Shushu/Tong at the JC Plaza said that Korean tourists accounted for about 80 percent of its new offline customers, and sales increased by about 50 percent compared with last year.

To better cope with increasing consumers' needs and provide high-standard service, several malls have trained staff members in basic foreign language skills and equipped them with translators.

Additionally, they have changed directional signs to be multilingual, diversified payment options and added foreign currency exchange points.

At the same time, restaurants with overwhelming consumer volume, such as Haidilao, have adjusted their business hours and extended them to 3 to 4 o'clock in the morning in hopes of serving as many visitors as possible.

"Attracting foreign tourists is just the beginning," said Zhou. "The key lies in enhancing high-quality services and management, providing them with delicate one-stop travel and shopping experiences."

Furthermore, during the upcoming Spring Festival, the Shanghai Super Brand Mall and Shanghai No 1 Shopping Center are celebrating the Chinese New Year with collaborated events, such as Dunhuang pop-up exhibition and cultural markets, which could better showcase the city image of Shanghai, attract the attention of global consumers, and tell compelling stories about China.