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Tourists pose with an inflatable doll of Donald Duck at Wishing Star Park of Disney Resort in Shanghai. The theme park is raising ticket prices from next month. Photo: Xinhua

Shanghai gears up for post-Covid tourism boom as Disneyland raises ticket prices

  • Shanghai should seize the strengthening recovery in the tourism industry to make it the primary driver for the consumption and services sectors, says local tourism chief
  • Shanghai Disneyland raising ticket prices by as much as 9.9 per cent from next month as city gears up for peak tourism season
Tourism

Shanghai is putting behind three years of damage caused by zero-Covid restrictions to its tourism industry, with Disneyland, the city’s premier tourist destination, gearing up for the peak summer season.

Authorities in China’s biggest metropolis have pledged to bolster the sector’s recovery, saying the city should seize the strengthening recovery in the tourism industry to make it the primary driver for the consumption and services sectors.

“Shanghai has cemented its position as a first-choice city for travellers and the tourism and culture market is playing an increasingly important role of attracting traffic and serving as the engine of the economy,” Fang Shizhong, the head of Shanghai’s tourism and culture administration, said on Thursday.

Shanghai Disneyland will raise its regular ticket price by 9.2 per cent to 475 yuan (US$67) that covers most days and weekends from June 23, the Shanghai unit of Walt Disney said in a statement on Thursday.

People walk in Nanjing Street, the main shopping and tourist area in Shanghai, China, during the golden week holiday on May 1, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Admission prices for special days and weekends will be increased by 9.9 per cent to 599 yuan, and the price for most public holidays and the summer season will go up by 9.1 per cent to 719 yuan, it said. Ticket prices that cover special-event days and select public holidays will increase by 3.9 per cent to 799 yuan.

Anecdotal evidence points to pent-up demand for travel powering a quick recovery in Shanghai’s tourism industry, which was completely paralysed this time last year because of the unprecedented two-month lockdown of the city.

The summer holidays for Chinese schools that run from July to August is traditionally the peak season for the nation’s tourism industry.

The metropolis of 25 million residents greeted 15.6 million tourists during the “golden week” holiday earlier this month, with long queues seen at major tourism landmarks from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower to the Wild Animal Park and Shanghai Disneyland.

Shanghai Disneyland was a victim of China’s zero-Covid policy. The US$5.5 billion theme park was closed three times last year to control the spread of the virus. In one instance, thousands of visitors had to take nucleic acid tests at the park before they could leave.

Walt Disney’s Shanghai park can handle 80,000 guests per day and covers 390 hectares (963 acres), around three times the size of the Hong Kong facility. It is part of the Shanghai Disney Resort, which also features Disneytown, the Wishing Star Park and the Toy Story Hotel.

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Thousands stuck inside Shanghai Disney Resort after snap Covid lockdown

Thousands stuck inside Shanghai Disney Resort after snap Covid lockdown
Meanwhile, China’s first self-built cruise will set sail on its maiden voyage from Shanghai within the year. Christened it Magic City, the 323-metre-long ship is now being tested before it is delivered at the end of 2023.
To bolster consumption, the city unveiled a slew of measures earlier this year including a subsidy of as much as 1,000 yuan for residents to buy green home appliances and resumed hosting the Masters snooker tournament that was suspended over the Covid-period.

Shanghai’s household consumption lagged the national average in the first three months. Retail sales grew 5.2 per cent from a year earlier in the span, compared with 5.8 per cent for the whole nation, official data showed.

Consumption, an important driver of China’s economy, has seen the fastest recovery of any sector from the fallout of the pandemic, as the easing of mobility restrictions have unleashed demand for dining, shopping and travelling.

Nationwide, tourism revenue surged to 148 billion yuan during the golden week holiday, topping the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to official data.

“The recovery in travel will continue,” said Liu Ran, an analyst at Central China Securities. “The increased mobility and a pickup in disposable incomes will further solidify the recovery in the tourism industry.”

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