Cultural and tourism market bounces back with new experiences, activities

The cultural and tourism market in Songjiang District has witnessed a strong recovery with new immersive experiences launched since the spring.

A variety of cultural and tourism activities have been held to promote the overall development of the tourism market, such as the opening of the ancient town of Sijing, a memorial hall to commemorate Kunqu Opera masters Yu Sulu and Yu Zhenfei and the first car cinema in Shanghai, as well as the activities themed on the Year of the Rabbit, in-depth tours, family tours, and nature and ecological tours.

During the first weekend of March this year, driven by various festival activities such as the cherry blossom camping season of Chenshan Botanical Garden, the butterfly festival of Shanghai Happy Valley and the warm spring renewal season of Shanghai Film and Television Park, local tourism in Songjiang experienced explosive growth.

Within just two days, 14 tourist attractions in Songjiang received more than 232,600 tourists, an increase of almost 571 percent over the first weekend of March 2019. Among them, Chenshan Botanical Garden received more than 68,100 visitors, Shanghai Happy Valley received more than 31,600 visitors, Sheshan National Forest Park received more than 42,500 visitors, and Guangfulin Cultural Relics Park received more than 24,200 visitors.

During the five-day May Day holiday, Shanghai Happy Valley received over 120,000 visitors and achieved revenue of over 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million).

"We began planning a series of themed activities six months in advance," said Lin Xingda, marketing director of Shanghai Happy Valley. These included the Light and Shadow Water Show + Colorful Fireworks, the "Mini Special Forces" theme exhibition and hero photo shoot, the Magician Valley Music Festival, the ChinaJoy National Costume Contest, the Jianghu Electric Music Party and the TV series "Love Between Fairy and Devil" fans meeting activities.

Shanghai Happy Valley set a new record for single-day revenue and single-day visitor numbers on April 30 since its opening, and then broke the record again on May 1. Within just four days from April 29 to May 2, it broke the total revenue record of the May Day holiday.

As the tourism market gradually recovers, the surrounding consumer market is also picking up, with strong demand for hotels, transportation, catering and other services around the scenic areas.

On February 27, the Shanghai Sheshan Shimao InterContinental Hotel welcomed the first Hong Kong tourist group, and since March, it has received about 3,000 guests from Hong Kong.

"Since January this year, our travel agency has received about 50,000 visitors, an increase of over 100 percent compared with the same period last year," said Chen Qiang, general manager of the United Travel Agency.