A Catalyst for Growth and Adaptation in a Changing Consumption Landscape

Shanghai's Push for Integrated Consumption

National legislators from Shanghai have urged the city to accelerate the integration of culture, tourism, business, and sports to further stimulate consumption and adapt to the rapidly evolving consumption structure.

Highlighting the importance of cultural and technological empowerment, the deputies to the National People's Congress emphasized how these factors can lead to the development of new products, technologies, and services that cater to diverse age groups, ultimately driving increased consumer spending.

Quan Heng, an NPC deputy and Party secretary of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, noted the steady growth of service-oriented consumption over the past decade, indicating a rapid transformation and upgrade of the country's consumption structure. He commended the Shanghai government's proposal last year to expedite the coordinated development of culture, tourism, business, and sports, which has already yielded positive results.

Quan cited the enhanced collaboration between the city's government departments of culture, tourism, business, and sports as a key factor in this success. He pointed to the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, which generated an economic benefit of about 1.4 billion yuan ($193 million) over a four-day period, as a prime example.

Additionally, initiatives to create new experiential settings have proven successful. The Civilization of Ancient Egypt exhibition held in Shanghai last summer attracted 1.6 million visitors and generated revenues of around 400 million yuan, with about half coming from relevant cultural and creative industries.

The NPC deputies have also suggested measures to further enhance the quality and services of culture, tourism, business, and sports offerings, as well as intensifying high-level opening-up to attract more international visitors for consumption.