Yin Xiaolong, general manager of Visa Chinese mainland. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Shanghai’s inbound consumption is heading in an upward direction, according to data for the first quarter of 2026 released by Visa.
The data indicated that Shanghai’s inbound tourism numbers increased by 29.1 percent year-on-year, while the offline card transaction amount has increased by over 50 percent year-on-year. The cardholding customer base for offline consumption has continued to grow notably, with visitors from nearly 200 countries and regions having registered spending activity across Shanghai.
Yin Xiaolong, general manager of Visa Chinese mainland, said: “The implementation of policies such as visa-free transit and visa facilitation has significantly reduced the entry threshold for international tourists, providing a basic guarantee for the growth of customer sources.”
“Meanwhile, Shanghai has abundant cultural and tourism resources, mature commercial facilities, and diverse consumption scenarios, which can meet the diverse needs of international tourists from sightseeing to in-depth experience.”
“Furthermore, the continuous upgrading of payment has effectively bridged the ‘last mile’ of consumption,” Yin added. “Taking Shanghai as an example, we have upgraded the Visa payment friendly demonstration zone and extended the ability to accept foreign cards from core business districts to high-frequency scenarios such as catering and retail. We have also promoted the combination of ‘tap to pay’ and ‘scan to pay’ on a large scale, allowing overseas tourists to complete payments without the need to download additional applications.”
For the ongoing Shanghai Summer International Consumption Season, which will run through October, Visa continues to upgrade its payment-friendly moves, focusing on the consumption demand for food, accommodation, travel and shopping, promoting a more convenient and friendly urban payment environment.
“We hope to use payment as a link to better connect global resources with Shanghai’s urban lifestyle, and contribute to building a more attractive international consumption center city,” Yin said.
For the second half of this year, Yin said that from the overall trend, the national inbound and outbound consumption has gone through the stage of “rapid recovery” and officially entered a new cycle of “quality improvement and upgrading”, with increasing certainty and sustainability of growth; as an international consumption center and major gateway for entry and exit in China, Shanghai will continue to play a leading role as a benchmark.
Lin Xianping, associate professor at Hangzhou City University, said: “In the second half of this year, the growth momentum of China’s inbound market is sufficient, and the growth rate is expected to continue to rise. The expansion of visa-free policies and upgrading of departure tax refunds continue to release policy dividends, coupled with the landing of various international events and cultural tourism exhibitions, providing strong support.”
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