Shanghai to become world-renowned tourist city

The Huangpu River, an iconic scenic spot in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

Shanghai municipal government released guidelines on Sept 6 to turn the city into a world-renowned tourist destination.

By 2020, the ambitious project wants the annual amount of domestic visitors to the city to reach 360 million, international visits to exceed 10 million, and tourism revenue to be over 600 billion yuan ($86.96 billion).

Looking even further ahead, Shanghai is aiming for 14 million international visitors annually by 2035.

Xu Weiwan, director of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, explained that Shanghai's tourism industry needs to be transformed and upgraded if it wants to meet its goals. Last year 8.73 million international visitors came to the city.

The guidelines have listed thirty measures to improve the city's tourism prospects including creating more appealing tourist destinations, increasing promotional efforts, creating a better tourism environment, and improving the influence of the city's tourism industry.

Historical buildings in Shanghai bring visitors to the past. [Photo/VCG]

Local iconic tourist spots such as the Huangpu River and historical buildings will be turned into modern must-visits and new destinations will be built as part of an "all-for-one tourism project". 

Unlike traditional tourism, all-for-one tourism involves engaging different sectors that cater to tourists and using the increasing amount of visitors to drive development.

Measures on rural lodging, cruises, and inbound tourism will also be rolled out in the near future.