The municipal government of Shanghai convened a work meeting on the development of tourism 2012 in the morning of February 10, which was the first keynote meeting on the topic after the Shanghai Tourism Development Conference 2011. In attendance were over 400 delegates from various districts, counties, relevant organs, businesses and media. Zhao Wen, the vice mayor of Shanghai, was also there and delivered her speech.
Statistics show that in 2011 Shanghai welcomed 231 million domestic visitors, 2.9% up over the previous year, generating revenues of RMB 278.654 billion, up 9.6% over the previous year; inbound tourists reached a remarkable 81.757 million, generating revenues of RMB 323.115 billion, 5.8% up over the previous year.

It was emphasized at the meeting that 2012 is a key year for the implementation of the 12th “Five-Year Plan”. In Shanghai’s tourism sector, guidelines laid out in the tourism-specific documents – “Opinions on Expediting the Development of the Tourism Industry” issued by the central government and “Opinions on Expediting the Development of Shanghai’s Tourism and Building Shanghai into a World Famous Tourist City” issued by the Shanghai municipal government – will be followed. This year, Shanghai will bring the annual theme “Happy and Healthy Tour” to life, promote the integration of tourism with other sectors and stimulate spending on tourist products. It is anticipated that in 2012 tourism will generate total annual revenues of around RMB 240 billion, up 10% over the previous year, including revenues in foreign currency of around USD 6.5 billion, up about 8% over the previous year.

It was decided at the meeting that Shanghai’s tourism will focus on seven key aspects in 2012, including the promotion of the integrated development of tourism and culture, the promotion of the integration of business tourism, sports tourism and industrial tourism, the promotion of MICE, and the promotion of the development of Shanghai’s outskirts by tourism.