'Location code' launched for access to city's cultural and tourism venues

Shanghai's cultural and tourism venues have adopted a "location code" which will require residents and tourists to scan and register to gain access after the venues reopen.

The venues include A-level tourist attractions, hotels, theaters, museums, public libraries, art galleries, Internet cafes, community-based cultural activity centers, chess and card rooms, and jubensha, or live action role-playing games venues, the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism said.

By scanning the code, people will have their health status, including nucleic acid test results, verified and relevant information registered automatically. They will need to show the information to the staff of cultural and tourism venues to gain admission.

The code can be scanned via the Suishenban mobile application, WeChat or Alipay.

The aim of the code is to improve the accuracy of health verification and admission registration, the administration said.

Despite a camping boom in outlying areas during the May Day holiday, the prevailing resurgence of COVID-19 has delivered the tourism industry a chilly blow which will linger under the impact of the pandemic.

Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said camping-style bookings at hotels and minsu (Chinese version of B&B) surged 153 percent from the Qingming Festival.

Residents in Pearl River Delta region were the most enthusiastic for camping tours. Bookings for tour products in Guangzhou grew 123 percent during the May Day holiday compared to the Qingming Festival break, Trip.com said.

A number of tourist destinations such as Guizhou and Yunnan provinces have been distributing cultural and tourism coupons to revive their travel markets and attract tourists.

Some users have started booking tours for Dragon Boat Festival in June, and it is expected the tourism market will rebound during the holiday if the pandemic situation is under control, said Shen Jiani, a tourism researcher at the online travel site.

Mafengwo, a travel service and social networking platform, said Sichuan and Chongqing region had the biggest increases in camping-related searches, soaring 240 percent from normal during the holiday.

The picturesque landscape and natural environment of the region, ideal for outdoor activities and self-driving tours, are behind the surge, it said.

Camping sites near Chengdu, Chongqing, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture were booked out early, according to Mafengwo.

Forest camping sites, clear, starry sky locations, and those with fishing and hiking activities were among visitor favorites, it said.

Self-driving tours also gained popularity during the May Day holiday. Search numbers soared nearly 70 percent from normal, the hottest being the 318 National Highway, Hulunbuir grasslands and the route around Hainan Province.