By Shen Zejin

Shanghai World Expo 2010 brought a great number of inbound tourists to the city, setting the highest record of 8.51 million. In 2011, due to global financial crisis, the traveling willingness of tourists from source areas has been reduced. However, the number of inbound tourists in Shanghai still reached 8.1757 million person-times, maintaining first in China.

Compared with Beijing, Xi'an and other historical and cultural cities, Shanghai does not have famous historic resorts like the Imperial Palace, the Great Wall or the Terracotta Army. Nevertheless, inbound tourism in Shanghai after the Expo shows excellent momentum. In behind this, there is a strong post-Expo drive, there is Shanghai's vigorous charm, and there is the window effect that the world hopes to learn about China through Shanghai.

After interview, the reporter found that Shanghai has been making great effort to promote its tourist image and push it all-roundly to be a world famous tourism city, which are the reasons why Shanghai's inbound tourism maintains stable under the impact of international financial crisis.

Setting up Mechanism for International Exchange

In recent years, Shanghai has attached great importance to the publicity effect of "going out and bringing in." In 2011 alone, it has organized tourism promotion in 26 countries and regions and joined nearly 30 international exhibitions for tourism. Meanwhile, it invited 35 group-times of foreign media and tourism buyers, amounting to more than 700 people, to visit shanghai. It has launched bilateral (multiple) tourist exchanges with Japan, South Korea and other countries for almost 200 group-times. Shanghai has begun to expand cooperation and exchanges with Russia, India and other emerging tourist source countries and try to establish tourism exchanges and cooperation mechanism with tourism departments in nearly 10 cities in Japan, Canada, USA, South Korea and Brazil. 

The rapid development of advanced manufacturing industries and modern service industries brought opportunities for business travel as well. In recent years, Shanghai successively appointed more than 70 internationally renowned experts of various fields as "the conference ambassador", winning many opportunities of holding international conferences in Shanghai. Next year, Shanghai will hold the World Congress of Gastroenterology with more than 10 thousand attendants. Reportedly, the global ranking of Shanghai's holding conferences of international association has risen from 37th in 2007 to 21st in 2010.

In this year, Shanghai plans to further advance its promotion effectiveness in overseas market and try to develop marketable new tourism products. Having joined the International Festival Association, Shanghai tour festival will attract more countries and regions to take part in the parade and team performance, enhancing its internationalization level.

Creating Unique Tourism Environment

Every day, a variety of classic plays and fashion shows are staged in Shanghai along with numerous events, such as the famous competition F1 China Grand Prix, golf tournaments, Snooker the Masters, Tennis Masters Cup, IAAF Diamond League, the International Women's Road Cycling World Cup in Chongming Island and other high-level sporting events. These cultural and sporting activities are made into brand tourism products. Tourism leisure functions and other related supporting facilities are added to the commercial districts and theme streets in downtown areas and enterprises are encouraged to produce new products labeled "necessarily buy in Shanghai" and "necessarily eat in Shanghai".In recent years, an increasing number of inbound tourists fancy self-guided tours. In response to this trend, Shanghai crafted Shanghai Album, the Classic Architectural Tours in Shanghai, Bund Life Style and other tourist brochures. It plans to develop more historical conservation regions, unique cultural districts and industrial heritage along the Huangpu River and Suzhou River. Moreover, there are elaborate Tianzifang, M50, the Old Dock and other creative industrial parks. In the Bund and Pudong, in those Old Garden Houses and Shikumen, overseas tourists can taste the integration of tradition and modernness.

Focusing on the international market, responding to the needs of inbound tourists, fully excavating cultural tourist resources, speeding up the integration with culture, industry, sports, commerce, science and technology, medicare and other related industries, Shanghai tourism now presents a grand development pattern compatible with all related industries, which brings greater business opportunity for inbound conferences, exhibitions and incentive travel."Opening one international exhibition each day" has lasted for many years in Shanghai. The National Exhibition Center in Hongqiao business district is currently under construction, within its area there are plenty of tourist projects being programmed, which will further enhance and develop exhibition tourism. After the Pujiang River Night-Cruise becoming inbound tourists' favorite, there is another tourism brand full of Shanghai urban feeling becoming available, the Eighteen Bends in Suzhou River.

Fully Developing Segment Markets

At present, segment markets of Shanghai inbound tourism have been developed all-roundly with sightseeing, leisure, convention and exhibition, commerce and other specialized categories. This provides greater room for Shanghai strengthening development in overseas market and improving its new image as a city of tourism.

Shanghai effectively integrates Huangpu River, Suzhou River and the tourism resources along river sides, regulating the development of yachts and cruise tour, improving the functional construction of cruise liner docks and supporting facilities, attracting more internationally famous cruise companies to develop in Shanghai. In 2011, the number of cruises liners visiting Shanghai North Bund reached 186, with 165.5 thousand tourists. Costa and Royal Caribbean Company have opened scheduled routes in North Bund, taking Shanghai as the home port.

Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Tourism predicts that the number of inbound tourists in Shanghai will reach 8.25 million in 2012, increasing by 3 percent over the previous year.