Shanghai launches global consumption season event

Shanghai will launch a global consumption season to increase the charm of Shanghai as a gateway city for international travelers in a span of over three months, official sources said.

Named "Shanghai Summer", the event will be unveiled on Saturday and last until the second weekend of October.

"Preparation work for the seven benchmark activities with international influence is ready, which includes Shanghai Tourism Festival, Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai), and On the top of Pyramid: the Civilization of Ancient Egypt exhibition," said Zhu Min, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

According to Zhu, a total of 58 other activities with distinctive features will be staged in the consumption season, comprising 18 exhibitions, 15 commercial activities, 12 sports events, nine cultural performances as well as four tourism events.

"In order to create an international friendly consumption environment, we will offer comprehensive services to tourists from home and abroad to meet their needs of transportation, accommodation, tourism, food and beverage, shopping, entertainment, and more," Zhu added.

"Enhanced service measures will cover communication, luggage storage, payment, travel accommodation, activity inquiries and transportation to attract tourists with improved travel experience," said Liu Min, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Up to 500 luggage storage points will be set up across the city by the end of July, and bilingual luggage guidance will be available in major business districts. The number of payment facilities that accept foreign bank cards will be expanded to 70,000 units by late September, and as many as 500,000 purses with coins and banknotes prepared in advance will be placed at venues for cash payment by the end of September, Liu said.

"A slew of efforts have been made to cater to expatriates visiting and living in the city, as it is our responsibility to provide prime, high-efficiency and convenient service," said Jing Ying, an official from Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC).

"For example, International Services Shanghai, a brand new English website and its three social media accounts were launched on the first day of January. Targeting expatriates' major requirements in business, tourism, work, study and consumption, the news portal is offering more than 150 service items with regards to business, life, talent, studying overseas and the multilingual portal, which launched in eight other languages like Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic in late April," said Jing.

"In response to the most frequent issues that encounter foreigners in Shanghai, we have come up with practical solutions to better facilitate foreigners' experience in payment, living, bank account opening, transportation and customs declaration," Jing said.

"In the meantime, a round-the-clock one-stop service station catering to the international travelers arriving at the Terminal 2 of the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai was put into trial operation on June 29, and the center will work together with the multilingual portal International Services Shanghai to better facilitate expatriates to better understand the city and feel at home here with the integrated service network both online and offline," Jing added.