Discount vouchers to boost city consumption

Foreigners, together with locals, are invited to join a shopping spree or enjoy a treat with family and friends as consumption coupons for leisure activities, dining and tourism will soon be offered to all.

Coupons worth a total of 500 million yuan (US$74 million) will be offered by the municipal finance funds from Saturday to fully leverage the holiday season to invigorate economic vitality, government officials said at a media briefing.

Follow-up coupons will be offered in several batches to the end of this year according to the initial response.

Wei Lu, chief economist of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, said the service consumption subsidies fit well with the consumption upgrade trend and cater to different types of leisure activities for different consumer groups during the peak holiday season.

The latest initiatives are put in place to encourage daily consumption and also coincide with the Shanghai Double Five Shopping Festival as well as the "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season, he noted.

By offering these consumption coupons, city authorities aim to unleash more synergies between retail, tourism, entertainment, performance and sports events through coordinated efforts.

Relevant authorities will also be assessing the actual usage of the coupons and will be optimizing the number and the different types of vouchers to enhance consumers' experience.

The city's action plan to boost service consumption was unveiled earlier this year by authorities in the commerce, retail, tourism, sports sectors and economic planning bodies.

By 2027, the service industry is expected to contribute over half of the city's total retail size.

Jin Lei, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism, said it plans to fully leverage the momentum of vibrant tourism and accommodation spending during the rest of this year.

The growth rate of the city's combined hotel accommodation revenue in the first half of this year is the highest in the country.

Over a dozen types of coupons in four major sectors – catering, accommodation, movie and sports – will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Catering

Total amount: 360 million yuan

Effective: seven days upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Details: The catering vouchers will be available in two rounds, each time with total amount of 180 million yuan.

Customers can log into the designated payment platforms with access to the list of eligible vendors.

During the first batch, which starts at 10am on September 28 and will last four weeks, coupons worth 90 million yuan will be allocated in the first week while coupons worth 30 million yuan will be available during the remaining weeks.

The second batch is set to start in November with the exact allocation to be determined later based on the initial response in the preceding months.

Accommodation

Total amount: 90 million yuan

Effective: seven days upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: travelers from all over the country and around the globe

Details: Locals and visitors from out of town can receive vouchers, which are available in two batches: from the end of September till the end of October, and from November till the end of December.

The vouchers would encourage travelers to extend the length of stay in the city. The coupons can be only used for accommodation, not dining.

Movies

Total amount: 30 million yuan

Effective: 24 hours upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Details: An addition of 15 million yuan of subsidies will be offered by online ticketing sites Taopiaopiao and Maoyan.

Target vouchers will also be available for audience that have already purchased tickets for entertainment events such as concerts, music festivals, gaming events and performances.

Extra discounts will be offered for those who purchase two tickets at the same time.

Sports

Total amount: 20 million yuan

Effective: 24 hours upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Details: Six types of vouchers to be available for over 700 sports venues in the city, with target coupons for special activities such as swimming, badminton, and ice and snow sports.