How many tourists visit Shanghai each year?

In the first half of 2024, Shanghai received a total of 3.0227 million inbound international tourists. Among them, there were 2.2043 million foreign tourists. The number of foreign tourists visiting Shanghai ranks first in mainland China.

Overall, Shanghai’s inbound tourism has achieved a significant recovery. In the first half of the year, the number of inbound international tourists increased by 143.5% compared to the same period last year. The number of inbound foreign tourists surged by 191.5% year-on-year. According to statistics, in the first half of the year, the international and regional passenger throughput of Pudong Airport reached 14.7542 million people. Foreign tourists accounted for 40.01%, ranking first.

At the same time, in the first half of 2024, the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau issued a total of 43,000 group tourist visas for foreigners at ports. The number increased by nearly 20% compared to the second half of 2023.

Since January last year, the “144-hour transit visa-free” policy has been implemented. Now it applies to 54 countries, covering many developed countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, and others. According to data from the National Immigration Administration, in the first half of this year, 14.635 million foreigners entered the country through various ports, a year-on-year increase of 152.7%, which shows its remarkable effectiveness.

In the inbound tourism boom, Shanghai, as an international metropolis, has shown strong attraction. According to data from Ctrip, in the second quarter of 2024, inbound tourism orders from overseas tourists in 54 countries enjoying the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policy increased by 28% quarter-on-quarter compared to the first quarter. And Shanghai is among the top cities.

The popularity of inbound tourism in Shanghai during the summer vacation remains unabated. From July 1 when the summer transportation season began to July 31, 2.95 million people entered and exited through Shanghai Pudong International Airport. 240,000 international passengers obtained the convenience of 24-hour direct transit without going through border inspection procedures.

The data disclosed by the Shanghai Airport Immigration Inspection Station on the same day shows that since the start of the summer transportation season, the number of foreigners entering and exiting through Pudong International Airport for business negotiations, cultural exchanges, and tourism has exceeded 583,000, an increase of 50% compared to the same period last year. Among them, the number of visa-free inbound foreigners has increased significantly to 72,000, a fourfold increase compared to the same period last year.

The Pudong International Airport port is characterized by dense routes, many flights, and high seat occupancy rates. It has resumed the normal state of “over 100,000 passengers per day.” In July, the average daily number of inbound and outbound passenger flights at this port has increased to 520, an increase of about 10% compared to June. The average daily international passenger flow has reached 103,000 people, a 65% increase compared to the same period last year. There are 22 days when the daily inbound and outbound international passenger flow exceeds 100,000 people.

Shanghai becomes the first stop and city for inbound tourism.

Uploading vlogs with the theme of “Chinatravel” on overseas platforms such as YouTube and TikTok has become a recent trend. According to statistics, in 2024, more than 80,000 theme videos related to tourism in Shanghai have been released on the YouTube platform. The cumulative views of popular videos have reached 4.5 million+, and the popularity ranks first in mainland China.

As the first stop for most foreigners visiting China, Shanghai is nicknamed “beginner’s village.” According to statistics from Ctrip website, Shanghai has won the top spot in the “15 cities that foreigners love to visit in China” and ranks first. At the same time, in the statistics of overseas tourists’ preferred flight destination cities, Shanghai is also the first choice for mainland China travel for tourists from Japan, South Korea, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, France and other countries. Picture source: City Records. Data source: Ctrip.

In the official overseas English account of “ShanghaiLet’smeet,” a series of wonderful activities such as the Shanghai Book Fair this summer, the Future Star Football Championship, the Water Lily Exhibition at Chenshan Botanical Garden, and the North Bund City Carnival will be the highlights of summer travel and will also attract many overseas tourists to participate and experience the pulse of the city.

In addition, by counting the 20 popular videos with the tag “shanghaitravel” released on YouTube since 2024, we can know which tourist attractions in Shanghai are the most popular among foreigners.

The 20 videos participating in the statistics all have a playback volume of more than 40,000 times: The cumulative playback volume of 20 freshly released Shanghai travel videos is as high as 4.295 million. The highest playback volume reaches 1.51 million times. Most of the video publishers have used the “144-hour transit visa-free” policy for inbound tourism. Let’s see which attractions they visit for sightseeing within these six days!

According to statistics, some “standard tourist attractions” that are often mentioned by Shanghai people unsurprisingly top the list. The Bund ranks first with an absolute advantage of 14 votes. Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and Yu Garden tie for second place with 11 votes. The Lujiazui area in Pudong ranks third with 9 votes.

Seventy percent of foreign tourists choose to come to the Bund to enjoy the Shanghai skyline. The combination of modern coolness and historical atmosphere brings a strong visual impact and stunning travel experience to many foreign friends.

Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and Yu Garden tie for second place with 11/20. More than half of the tourists will choose to come here to check in. Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street is known as “the first street in China.” The bustling crowds and colorful neon lights make people excited. The elegant and fresh Jiangnan garden architectural style of Yu Garden allows foreign tourists to experience Chinese characteristics.

As a symbol of China’s reform and opening up, the Lujiazui area in Pudong represents the rapid development of Shanghai in the past forty years and is the epitome of China’s rise. It also attracts many foreign tourists to visit. The Shanghai skyline composed of the Oriental Pearl Tower and the “kitchen three-piece set” has now become Shanghai’s international city business card. Many foreign tourists choose to climb to the top of the Shanghai Tower or the Oriental Pearl Tower to have a panoramic view of the bustling city.

In addition, in traditional bustling downtown areas such as Jing’an Temple, the Hengfu area, People’s Park, and Xintiandi, there are also many foreign friends checking in and doing city walks. A few “parent-child tour” bloggers choose to take their families to visit Shanghai Disneyland and experience a dreamy journey. The unique charm of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town near Shanghai’s suburbs with “small bridges, flowing water, and people’s homes” also attracts the attention of some tourists.

The neatly arranged shared bicycles on many streets in Shanghai are undoubtedly a beautiful urban landscape, and also make many foreign tourists sigh that Shanghai is a “bike-friendly” city. Among the 20 popular videos, six bloggers have mentioned Shanghai’s bicycle culture. The conspicuous bicycle teams on the road make them feel extremely novel. Riding between various “trendy streets” has also become a new fashion in traveling in Shanghai. Scanning a shared bicycle and shuttling under the shade of trees to feel the breeze and sunshine without delaying enjoying the street view is extremely pleasant.

In all the statistical videos, the word “quiet” appeared a total of 21 times. For foreign tourists, the generally quiet atmosphere in Shanghai’s subway cars and on the streets leaves a deep impression on them.

British blogger EoinandAisling emphasized in the video that “even though there is heavy traffic on the road, the noise is still very small. It should be because there are many electric vehicles. The street is very quiet, which is unimaginable for a metropolis like Shanghai. There is no noise on the subway either. It is silent. This is a bit strange because we previously thought Shanghai was a crowded, busy and noisy city.”

Jinxian Road, less than three hundred meters long, is quiet and filled with a strong local atmosphere.

The subway is an important part of urban life in Shanghai. The developed subway network covers every corner of the city and provides great convenience to urban residents. Among the 20 popular videos, seven video creators have mentioned the deep impression that Shanghai’s subway system has brought to them.

Canadian blogger JetLagWarriors sighed after taking the Shanghai subway for the first time: “Shanghai Metro Map is IMPRESSIVE!” “The subway stations and subway cars are very modern and also very clean. I like the color of the carriages on Line 2. It seems that most subway staff can speak English, which is very helpful to us.”

As the world’s first and only high-speed maglev commercial operation line, since its opening, the Shanghai Maglev Train has become a business card of Shanghai with its advantages of speed, safety, punctuality, and humanized service. The maglev train has therefore become the second most popular means of transportation for foreign tourists, second only to the Shanghai subway.

On the TripAdvisor forum, there are more than three thousand comments under the topic of “Shanghai Maglev,” with high popularity. More than a thousand of them focus on the astonishing maximum operating speed of 430 km/h of the maglev train. There are also many tourists sharing the ticket price, connection convenience, and comfort of the maglev train. They think it is an “extremely novel experience.” The overall satisfaction rate of overseas tourists for the Shanghai maglev train is as high as 91.5%.

At the same time, in addition to the above traditional tourist attractions, Shanghai also strives to present a “different Shanghai” to the world and send invitations to the world with colorful cultural, tourism, and sports activities.

Throughout 2024, Shanghai will continue to hold large-scale festivals, exhibitions, and competitions. This is not only a “golden business card” for promoting the city’s image but also an accelerator for attracting international tourists. Major events such as the “Star Shines on China: Sanxingdui – Jinsha Ancient Shu Civilization Exhibition,” “At the Top of the Pyramid: Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition,” Shanghai International Film Festival, and Shanghai Olympic Qualification Series in the first half of the year have presented the unique charm of the Magic City Carnival, attracting the attention of global tourists and also providing extraordinary cultural, tourism, and sports feasts for tourists visiting Shanghai from all over the world.

Openness, innovation, and inclusiveness are the most distinct urban qualities of Shanghai. In recent years, Shanghai has highlighted the urban characteristics of “urban, comprehensive, and international.” It adheres to promoting tourism with culture and highlighting culture with tourism. It promotes deep integration of culture and tourism. It focuses on exerting efforts from both investment and consumption ends. It strengthens cross-cycle layout and countercyclical adjustment. It strives to build a central node of the domestic big cycle and a strategic link of the domestic and international dual cycles in the field of culture and tourism. It better empowers urban economic development and people’s beautiful lives and helps enhance the influence of Chinese culture and the soft power of Shanghai.