Shanghai experienced a tremendous increase in consumption and tourism for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day break as the city adopted a festive holiday vibe.

This year, Shanghai's major commercial districts, avenues, and malls attracted throngs of passionate shoppers throughout the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, creating a dynamic and wealthy atmosphere.

Consumer big data monitoring shows that during the Christmas season, offline consumption totaled a stunning 44.92 billion yuan (US$6.24 billion). This astounding figure illustrates how keen locals and visitors are to make holiday-related purchases.

Several industries saw significant growth, with electronic items leading the way with an annual growth rate of 103.8%. Convenience stores, sporting goods, stationery stores, and department stores all experienced considerable growth of 57.3 percent, 26.4 percent, and 17.8 percent, respectively. Online purchases of actual retail goods totaled 31.39 billion yuan, which is a substantial amount.

The holiday season was marked by an increase in the number of tourists visiting important commercial areas. The 35 major commercial districts saw a total of 37.89 million visitors, a considerable rise of 34.6 percent from the previous year and 19.8 percent from the same holiday season in 2019.

The top three commercial districts in terms of consumption were found to be Nanjing Road W, Lujiazui, and Nanjing Road E, which had increases in consumption of 8.1%, 10.6%, and 7.7%, respectively, from a year earlier.

The increase in out-of-town tourists also made a substantial contribution to Shanghai's consumption expenditure, which totaled 16.3 billion yuan.

External visitors made a total of 18.04 million visits, an increase of 18.0 percent from the previous year. Shanghai continues to be a well-liked holiday shopping and travel destination given that tourists from Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces make for a sizeable share of external consumption.

The holiday season gave people a chance to experiment with new consuming scenarios, models, and goods. For instance, Century Square at the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall attempted to garner social media interest and position the pedestrian street as a center for new product releases. The work was fruitful, as the combined sales of the 36 sample businesses on the pedestrian mall impressively surpassed 610 million yuan, up 7.9 percent from the previous year.

Notably, sales increased by more than 30% year over year at places like Bund Central Plaza, Huawei flagship store, Hongyi Plaza, Nike 001 global flagship store, and Pop Mart global flagship store. On September 30, Bailian ZX Anime Theme Mall set a new record for daily sales and stood out with an average daily footfall of over 60,000 individuals.

According to Shanghai tourist big data monitoring, the city welcomed a staggering 21.29 million visitors over the holiday, demonstrating a strong performance in both the culture and tourism

The eight-day holiday period saw an increase in tourism consumption transactions (covering lodging, dining, transportation, shopping, and entertainment), which totaled 29.24 billion yuan, indicating a remarkable year-over-year rise of 29.7 percent, according to the statistics from Shanghai UnionPay. No significant safety incidents were reported during this time.

The holiday season not only increased traveler spending but also showed how well the sector was doing. An average occupancy rate of 52.7 percent was seen at star-rated hotels, an increase of 4.5 percentage points from the same time last year. Occupancy rates in other lodging facilities increased as well, rising by 1.2 percentage points to 54.2 percent.

During the holiday, Shanghai's top tourist sites prospered, drawing 9.25 million tourists, up 25% from the previous year. It demonstrated the city's dedication to being the top destination for Chinese inbound tourism.

Due to the city's emphasis on improving the overall visitor experience and fusing culture and commerce, Shanghai's cultural and tourism market during the holiday was a success. The city introduced more than 300 cultural and tourism items under five categories, including cultural exhibitions, art exhibitions, theater performances, concerts, and beach excursions, to provide high-quality offers. Shanghai sought to highlight its urban, extensive, and international cultural tourist offerings by fusing online and offline activities.

During the Christmas season, Shanghai's cultural tourist market displayed four key traits. Early in the year, when domestic travel regulations were loosened and consumer stimulus programs were implemented, this led to an increase in "new consumption," which gave rise to novel formats and distinctive holiday experiences. Events like the Shanghai Tourism Festival and the Hangzhou Asian Games, which captivated both locals and visitors, served as additional examples of the benefits of urban tourism.

The city honored tradition by hosting a variety of cultural events to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and reflect the city's rich history. These initiatives supported the innovative development and creative reinvention of traditional Chinese culture.

The emergence of experience-based tourism was another major trend, with Shanghai offering a wide range of appealing tourism goods that attracted tourists. Tourists looking for an immersive and real journey around the city were enthralled by city walk tours, boutique urban micro- tourism experiences, and archaeological tourism itineraries.