Companies announce new products and tailor-made services for 'Shanghai Summer'

A set of new products and tailor-made services will be provided during the "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season, officials and companies' executives said during a global promotion conference on Friday.

To better address China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy implemented at the end of last year, a total of 11 companies released during the conference the first batch of themed products to provide special discount, products of limited editions and tailor-made services to international travelers during this year's "Shanghai Summer", which will be held from July to October.

Among these products are the 1-million-plus discount air tickets provided by China Eastern Airlines, themed cards jointly issued by China UnionPay and local banks, and "Shanghai Pass", a multi-purpose prepaid card issued by Shanghai City Tour Card Development Co Ltd to cater to the needs of inbound travelers. Apart from using at transportation scenarios, "Shanghai Pass" can also be used in shopping malls, supermarkets, convenient stores, and designated tourist attractions such as the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower.

Boosting inbound consumption will be one major target for this year's "Shanghai Summer", which will be held for the second consecutive time, Liu Min, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said in a press briefing in mid-February.

"Easy Go" mini program, which runs on the international edition of the online payment tool Alipay, made its debut during the Friday promotion conference. Integrating catering, transportation, cultural and tourism as well as shopping scenarios, the mini program will release discount and promotions as well as inbound trip information during "Shanghai Summer".

For tourists on short international routes, such as those taking off from Japan and South Korea, Shanghai will introduce the so-called micro-vacation themed products, featuring shows, exhibitions, shopping, and catering. International travelers making transit in Shanghai may enjoy free half-day trips in the city.

The official website of "Shanghai Summer" was launched on Friday. Providing Chinese, English, French, Japanese and Korean editions, the website provides international tourists with services covering product booking, activity reservation, information disclosure and recommendation from key opinion leaders. A DeepSeek-based AI assistant is available on the website.

Apart from the traditional benchmark activities such as the Shanghai International Electronic Music Festival and Shanghai Tourism Festival, new activities will make their debut this year, including the series of activities held by toy company Lego to celebrate the International Day of Play, an international game and animation carnival, and the 2025 World Rowing Championships, Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said in an interview on Thursday.

Shanghai will further improve services related to telecommunications, map services provided in foreign language, translation of international drivers' licenses, luggage storage, tax refund upon departure and payment facilitation, according to Zhu.

During last year's "Shanghai Summer" held from the first weekend in July to the second weekend in October, the city received about 1.39 million inbound visitors, up 42.2 percent from a year earlier. Throughout 2024, Shanghai received 6.5 million inbound tourists, spiked 80 percent year-on-year. The sales of tax refund products surged nearly 90 percent, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.