The eastern Chinese city of Shanghai has launched a program aiming to double its tourism revenue over the next five years, according to local authorities.

 

Shanghai received 236 million domestic visitors in 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19, with domestic tourism revenue hitting 280.95 billion yuan (about 42.8 billion U.S. dollars), said Fang Shizhong, director of the municipality's administration of culture and tourism, on Thursday.

 

Speaking at Tourism Plus Shanghai 2021, the city's first comprehensive tourism expo, Fang noted the municipal government will boost cultural tourism, explore new channels of tourist consumption and upgrade the digitalization of the tourism industry to allow more events to take place online.

 

Fang said Shanghai plans to build 20 smart scenic areas and 600 smart hotels equipped with intelligent devices in 2021.

 

The city will also cultivate several top global tourism brands and flagship tourism events, as well as more professionals in the industry, he added.