The gears of fate are starting to turn, and inbound tourism in Shenzhen is booming. The pace of Shenzhen becoming a world-class tourist destination is accelerating.
With the combination of favorable factors such as visa exemption, convenient customs clearance, and route resumption, Shenzhen has become one of the main destinations for foreign tourists visiting China. Data shows that in 2023, Shenzhen received 1.288 million foreign tourists throughout the year; In the first quarter of 2024, Shenzhen's tourism industry received 177400 overnight foreign visitors, a nearly double year-on-year increase. In March of this year, the foreign international cruise ship "Pacific World" docked at the Shekou Cruise Home Port, and nearly 1500 international tourists embarked on a journey of Shenzhen's cultural landscape and cuisine, becoming an important milestone in the high-quality development of Shenzhen's cruise industry and the development of the inbound tourism market.
The upcoming May Day holiday, Shenzhen inbound tourism market is also optimistic. According to the 2024 "May Day" Tourism Trend Insight Report released by Ctrip, Shenzhen ranked eighth among the popular destinations for inbound tourism during the May Day period, with a year-on-year increase of 66% in pre orders for inbound tourism.
A year ago, the Shenzhen Business Daily commented on an article titled "Shenzhen: A Wonderful" Butterfly Transformation "towards a world-class tourist destination, stating that after years of deep cultivation, the level of tourism development factors in Shenzhen has continuously improved, and with the accumulation of reputation, it will jointly promote the leapfrog development of Shenzhen's tourism industry. This judgment has now been proven.
All luck that seems to fall from the sky is the result of accumulation and accumulation. The harmonious coexistence of abundant natural mountain and sea resources and modern bustling urban image constitutes the beautiful background of Shenzhen's tourism; The diverse types of tourism and leisure activities have created a "treasure" in Shenzhen; The world's largest LEGO amusement park and Ice and Snow World are accelerating construction in Shenzhen... In addition, the scattered shopping centers and complete transportation facilities such as sea, land, air, and rail have all reached a considerable level in Shenzhen's six elements of tourism, including food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment. During this year's Spring Festival holiday, Shenzhen received a total of 8.2596 million tourists and achieved a tourism revenue of 8.787 billion yuan, both of which reached historical highs, ranking fourth as a popular tourist destination in China.
In contrast, inbound tourism in Shenzhen appears slightly quiet. In 2019, Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide publisher, released a list of the world's top ten best travel destinations, with Shenzhen ranking second for the first time. This indicates that Shenzhen tourism has gained some international recognition, but the market still needs to wait for the opportunity to ignite.
In 2023, a series of new visa free policies have been implemented, igniting inbound tourism in Shenzhen, and it is expected that this momentum will accelerate. Firstly, under the stimulation of the new visa free policy, the reputation accumulation of inbound tourism in Shenzhen will be explosively released. On December 1, 2023, China implemented a visa free entry policy for six countries including France and Germany. On the first day of implementation, the number of passengers arriving in Shenzhen reached 492, accounting for approximately 1/4 of the total number of visa free arrivals in China.
Furthermore, Shenzhen will spare no effort and take various measures to facilitate inbound tourism to continue this trend. In January of this year, Shenzhen Airport was granted the policy of 24-hour transit exemption from border inspection procedures; At the same time, Shenzhen is continuously weaving a dense international air route network, and it is expected that by 2025, the number of international air routes at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport will exceed 100; Shenzhen continuously innovates and provides multiple convenient mobile payment services for foreigners; Shenzhen has also implemented a convenient measure of "buy and refund" for departure tax refunds, providing overseas travelers with a better consumption experience.
The rise of inbound tourism has brought Shenzhen not only significant consumption growth, but also enormous international influence. Imagine that when foreign tourists come to Chinese path to modernization, which is aiming to become a model of a modern Chinese city, and feel the charm of Shenzhen's innovative development, Shenzhen's "circle of friends" will become larger and larger, and China's rise will be more widely recognized.
Only world-class tourist destinations can match the urban status of Shenzhen as an international metropolis. Faced with the overwhelming wealth and prosperity of inbound tourism, Shenzhen should make full use of its resource endowment, transform traffic into energy with higher management level and sincere and high-quality services, and accelerate the development into a world-class tourism destination!