Multiple Chinese cities eye bumper summer travel spending, with inbound tourism emerging as a key driver of growth

Multiple cities and provinces across the country are ramping up efforts to boost tourism-related consumption during the summer season, as a wave of spending is evident in many places, particularly in inbound travel.

The tourism industry is on the rise, driven by improved services, better infrastructure and supportive policies, a Chinese expert said. With continued efforts from both central and local governments, tourism consumption is expected to become an increasingly important driver of overall consumer spending.

Megacity Shanghai announced on Wednesday that the "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season, a city-level campaign aimed primarily at boosting inbound tourism spending during the summer, is set to kick off on Friday. Authorities are launching a series of activities that combine commerce, travel, culture, sports and exhibitions aimed at providing excellent consumption experience for consumers and travelers from across the world.

In the first six months this year, Shanghai facilitated a total of 4.25 million inbound tourist trips in the first six months this year, signifying an increase of 38.5 percent year-on-year. Sales of tax-refundable goods grew by 85 percent year-on-year, with sales under the "instant tax refund" policy soaring by 28.1-fold, Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Shanghai is just one of the latest Chinese cities to promote summer tourism consumption.

Qingdao, a popular coastal tourist city of East China's Shandong Province, launched a cultural and tourism consumption season this week, part of the province's broader efforts to boost tourism spending, domestic news portal The Paper reported.

Over 4,000 cultural and tourism events will be held across Shandong this summer to boost consumption. More than 1,000 A-level scenic spots and over 500 star-rated hotels across the province are partnering with financial institutions and online travel platforms to offer various discounts and promotional deals, according to media reports.

East China's Anhui Province recently held a provincial meeting on boosting the summer cultural and tourism market and advancing the development of all-for-one tourism as a pillar industry for 2025, according to a report published on the official website of the provincial government.

The meeting called for the full implementation of policies to stimulate cultural and tourism consumption, seizing summer opportunities to accelerate the development of tourism into a pillar industry, said the report.

Cities in China will allocate over 570 million yuan ($79.56 million) in subsidies to boost domestic consumption as part of efforts to kick off the summer consumption season, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.  

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will launch a nationwide campaign from July to August. During this period, regions across the country will introduce a variety of seasonal cultural and tourism products and activities, focusing on summer consumption trends.

Specific activities include coastal vacations, performances and exhibitions, market fairs, family-friendly entertainment and night-time events. More than 4,300 themed activities, totaling about 39,000 sessions, will be held. 

"Since the start of summer, many provinces and cities across China have actively innovated and enriched consumption scenarios. Driven by tourists' personalized and quality-oriented demands, these localities have been continuously improving tourism services," Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Cong said that diverse consumption supply will help spark spending potential and overall market vitality. "Consumption is a crucial engine for economic growth and a key driver in smoothing domestic circulation. Promoting strategic synergy between culture and tourism at the consumption level will make significant contributions to stimulating consumption and comprehensively expanding domestic demand," he said.

'China travel' highlighted

Among the highlights of China's growing tourism consumption trend, inbound tourism has gained strong momentum and emerged as a new driver of domestic tourism-related spending. The rollout of unilateral visa-free policies and other supportive measures has made China an increasingly attractive destination for foreign visitors this summer, experts said.

In the first five months of this year, East China's Jiangsu Province received a total of 1.15 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 37.8 percent. In Suzhou's Tongli Ancient Town, the number of inbound tour groups rose by 85 percent, with visitors from around the world taking boat rides to experience the town's rich historical and cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, known for its deep cultural and historical roots, remains one of the most popular destinations for both domestic and international tourists. According to media reports, the number of inbound trips to Shaanxi has exceeded 445,000 so far this year, up 66 percent year-on-year.

"An increasing number of domestic cities and scenic spots are becoming popular destinations among foreign tourists. This not only demonstrates the development of China's cultural and tourism industry but also reflects the attractiveness of China's vast market to global consumers," Cong said, noting that localities should seize the opportunity to further enrich tourism product and service supply to promote consumption and cultural prosperity.

With continued improvements in service quality, tourism infrastructure and supportive policies such as the visa-free policy, more cities and scenic spots across China are emerging as must-visit destinations for both domestic and international travelers, Hu Qimu, deputy secretary-general of the Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that this rising popularity is not only boosting tourism activity, but also driving growth in related sectors such as accommodation, dining and transportation, injecting fresh momentum into overall consumer spending.

Looking ahead, the potential is immense, as China's continued efforts to open up, along with improved services and infrastructure, are making the country an increasingly attractive destination for international travelers, the expert said, adding that this momentum is further energizing the tourism sector and providing fresh impetus for the recovery and growth of consumption.