1.1 Event Timeline and Launch Background

On 22 August 2026, Wenhui Daily reporters learned from Shanghai Airport, CDFG and China Telecom that the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" inbound city tourism joint marketing campaign was officially launched at Pudong and Hongqiao airports, covering a full-chain inbound consumption experience of "arrival check-in, city walk and departure reward", with the campaign explicitly running until 31 December. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

This launch is not an isolated move but a "city-level landing" of China's inbound consumption promotion policy at the port level:

• On the policy side: The Ministry of Commerce and five other departments issued the "Notice on Intensifying Optimisation of Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption" (i.e. "Departure Tax Refund 2.0") on 12 May 2026, effective 1 July 2026, which explicitly calls for "building the 'Shopping in China' brand" and optimising the inbound consumption environment; at a State Council Information Office press conference on 30 March 2026, the Ministry of Commerce said it would push "Shopping in China" to keep heating up and launch the 2026 "Shopping in China" International Consumption Season at the April Consumer Expo; Source: gov.cn, 2026-05-18; Source: CCTV, 2026-03-30
• On the passenger-flow side: In H1 2026, over 2.046 million foreign travellers entered Shanghai under the visa-free and 240-hour transit visa-free policies, accounting for more than 60% of all inbound foreign travellers, as Shanghai's attraction as "China's first inbound tourism stop" continued to be released; Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22
• On the industry side: CDFG's Shanghai Airport duty-free store opened brand new on 1 January 2026, operating in the international zones of Pudong T2, the S2 satellite concourse and Hongqiao T1, providing the campaign with a two-way retail node of "arrivals duty-free store — departures duty-free store". Source: CDFG Shanghai Airport Duty-Free Official Website

1.2 Tri-Party Collaboration: Roles of "Airport × Duty-Free × Telecom"

Moodie Davitt Report's coverage detailed the role division of the three parties — the key to understanding the industrial logic of this event (Source: Moodie Davitt Report, 2026-08-06): Moodie Davitt Report

| Party | Resources Provided | Role in the Chain

|-------|-------------------|-------------------

| Shanghai Airport (Group) | Promotional space and passenger support across the two international airports | Provides the "traffic entry + consumption scene", the physical carrier of the campaign

| China Duty-Free Group (CDFG) | The "Shanghai Joyful City Pass" retail system | Leads retail supply: combining duty-free shopping benefits with city-guide services

| China Telecom | Interactive digital touchpoints + SIM card promotions | Provides "connectivity + digital interaction", solving the "connect on landing" pain point for overseas travellers

Moodie Davitt Report defined CDFG's "Shanghai Joyful City Pass" as a pass that "combines duty-free shopping benefits with city-guide services", and noted that the campaign was launched as China continues to expand visa-free entry and transit policies that are driving inbound tourism growth, while leveraging Shanghai's role as a key entry point for international visitors to the country. Moodie Davitt Report

1.3 Core Campaign Data at a Glance

| Dimension | Content | Source

|-----------|---------|--------

| Arrival check-in | Land at Pudong/Hongqiao, check in at CDFG duty-free stores and share on overseas social media to receive a bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" gift pack | Wenhui Daily

| Gift pack | Bilingual city guide map + duty-free discount coupons | Wenhui Daily

| Pudong bonus | Spend CNY850+ at T2 arrivals duty-free store to receive a 7-day China Telecom SIM card (voice + data) | Wenhui Daily / Moodie Davitt

| City walk | Collect stamps at "Shanghai Airport arrivals duty-free store", "Wukang Mansion", "Columbia Circle / Xingfuli" | Wenhui Daily

| Departure reward | Redeem the CDFG Shanghai Year-of-the-Horse limited-edition gift at Pudong T2 departures duty-free store | Wenhui Daily / Moodie Davitt

| Co-branded landmark | CDFG × China Telecom Wukang Mansion telephone booth, interactive games to win duty-free coupons | Wenhui Daily

| Summer promotion | "Shanghai Summer, Fun Now", Pudong T2/S2, Hongqiao T1, CNY888+ single purchase 100% win rate | Wenhui Daily

| Campaign period | Until 31 December | Wenhui Daily

Section 2. Full-Chain Breakdown: The Three Segments of "Arrival Check-In → City Walk → Departure Reward"

The essence of this campaign is turning an ordinary "arrival" into a three-segment consumption journey that travellers can experience, participate in and redeem. The CTP Research Department breaks it down segment by segment.

2.1 Segment One: Arrival Check-In — The Consumption-Conversion Hook of the "First Stop on Landing"

Design: After landing at Pudong or Hongqiao, travellers check in at CDFG's arrivals duty-free stores and share their experience on overseas social media to receive a bilingual (Chinese-English) "Shanghai Stroll Guide" gift pack (containing a bilingual city guide map and duty-free discount coupons). Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Chain value reading: This segment addresses the long-standing decision vacuum of inbound tourism — "where to go, what to buy and what to do in the first hour after arrival".

• "Check-in + sharing" replaces "passively receiving a coupon": traditional airport consumption guidance hands out coupons; this segment is designed as "receive the gift pack after checking in and sharing on overseas social media" — making overseas travellers spontaneous communication nodes for the campaign, while their overseas social-media sharing simultaneously completes the international word-of-mouth diffusion of the "Shanghai Stroll Guide", forming a "consumption + communication" dual loop;
• A "gift pack" replaces a "single coupon": the pack contains a bilingual city guide map — in essence, upgrading "a duty-free discount coupon" into "a city guide tool", connecting the airport consumption scene with downtown sightseeing for the first time;
• Bilingual design solves the language pain point: inbound travellers obtain a mother-tongue city guide within the first hour of landing, significantly lowering the psychological barrier of "being lost in a strange city".

Moodie Davitt Report summarised this as an "arrival incentive" mechanism, noting that international travellers landing at Shanghai Pudong or Hongqiao airports who check in at CDFG's arrivals duty-free stores and share on overseas social media receive a bilingual Shanghai Joyful City Pass guidebook. Moodie Davitt Report

2.2 Arrival Check-In Bonus: "Spend CNY850+ for a 7-Day China Telecom SIM Card" — Connectivity Facilitation as Consumption Conversion

Design: At Pudong, CDFG adds a bonus — travellers who spend at least CNY850 at the T2 arrivals duty-free store receive a complimentary 7-day China Telecom SIM card (with voice and data services), "enjoying communication convenience from the moment they land". Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Chain value reading: This is the most direct landing of the "airport × duty-free × telecom" tri-party collaboration, solving the "connect on landing" pain point — the "water, electricity and gas" of the inbound experience.

• "Spend-to-earn SIM card" is a precise consumption incentive: CNY850 is the typical transaction range for arrivals duty-free stores (beauty, tobacco & liquor, premium goods); binding the "communication necessity" to "duty-free spending" uses the instant gratification of "connect as soon as you land" to stimulate purchase decisions;
• Moodie Davitt's global perspective: the media described spending CNY850 (about US$126) at the arrivals duty-free store to receive a free seven-day China Telecom SIM card with voice and data as "providing connectivity from the moment they arrive", and regarded it as a typical landing of the "connectivity" dimension in tri-party collaboration; Moodie Davitt Report
• Solving the chain of "payment + navigation + translation" needs: with a local SIM card, overseas travellers can smoothly use mobile payment, map navigation and online translation, providing the digital infrastructure for the subsequent "city walk" segment.

2.3 Segment Two: City Walk — Three-Stop Stamping with the "Shanghai Joyful City Pass / Stroll Guide"

Design: Holding the "Shanghai Stroll Guide", travellers collect stamps at three stops — the "Shanghai Airport arrivals duty-free store", "Wukang Mansion" and "Columbia Circle / Xingfuli (Happiness Lane)" — to complete the "city walk" segment. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Chain value reading: This is the core segment of "moving from the airport into the city", upgrading inbound consumption from "airport consumption" to "city consumption".

• The three stops form a "airport → landmark → commercial district" consumption route: Shanghai Airport arrivals duty-free store (the start of inbound consumption) → Wukang Mansion (one of Shanghai's most classic urban landmarks and internet-famous check-in point) → Columbia Circle / Xingfuli (Shanghai's emerging culture-commerce-tourism integrated blocks), guiding travellers from the air hub into the historic lanes and riverside districts, extending their stay and consumption radius;
• Moodie Davitt's official description of the City Walk: the media defined it as "an interactive trail for Shanghai Joyful City Pass holders" and disclosed that the Shanghai City Walk map charts the traveller journey from arrival to departure, highlighting three Hello Booth checkpoints and key Shanghai landmarks; Moodie Davitt Report
• "Stamp collecting" is an effective gamified carrier of inbound tourism content: stamp-based gameplay turns city sightseeing into a "collectible, redeemable" gamified experience, highly aligned with the preferences of Gen Z and family travellers, and provides Shanghai's tourism content with a quantifiable passenger-flow tracking dimension.

2.4 City Walk Highlight: CDFG × China Telecom Co-Branded "Wukang Mansion Telephone Booth"

Design: CDFG and China Telecom co-created a trendy telephone-booth landmark at Wukang Mansion; travellers who join interactive games in the booth can win more duty-free coupons, realising "play, walk and save as you go". Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Chain value reading: The telephone booth is a classic cultural symbol of "communication"; combining it with duty-free retail and an urban landmark is a cross-industry co-creation of "telecom brand × city culture × duty-free promotion":

• Moodie Davitt's "Hello Old Friends" description: the media called this interactive installation "China Telecom's Hello Old Friends booth", believing it gives travellers "a playful way to connect with the city's heritage while engaging with CDFG's retail offerings"; Moodie Davitt Report
• "Win coupons via interactive games" is a low-threshold consumption activation: compared with "spend-to-save", interactive-game coupon rewards have a lower threshold and higher fun factor, continuously generating communication material at the high-traffic Wukang Mansion landmark and feeding back into city-walk participation.

2.5 Segment Three: Departure Reward — The "Year-of-the-Horse Gift" Closes the Loop

Design: After collecting stamps at all three stops in the Stroll Guide, travellers can redeem the CDFG Shanghai Year-of-the-Horse limited-edition gift at the Pudong T2 departures duty-free store on their way out. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Chain value reading: The departure reward is the "last kick" of the whole chain, re-activating the consumption scenario most prone to leakage — "about to depart after sightseeing":

• Moodie Davitt's disclosure of the departure reward: the media disclosed a two-tier departure design — first, travellers who collect stamps at the CDFG Shanghai arrivals store, the Hello Booth at Wukang Mansion, and the Hello Booth at Columbia Circle/Xingfuli can redeem a limited-edition CDFG Shanghai Year of the Horse gift at the CDFG departures store at Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 2 before they leave; second, presenting three campaign check-in photos allows redemption of an exclusive gift at the Pudong Terminal 2 departures store. Moodie Davitt Report
• The "departures duty-free store" is the natural scene of departure consumption: departures duty-free stores already host international travellers' final purchase before departure; this design uses the "Year-of-the-Horse gift" (zodiac-limited + exclusive attributes) to create the scarcity of "only obtainable by completing the full journey", upgrading the departure scene from "buying on the way" to "redeeming an exclusive reward";
• The hidden value of the loop: three-stop stamping activates three physical points — "arrivals store — city — departures store" — both extending travellers' consumption chain in Shanghai and providing CDFG with a closed-loop passenger-flow data dimension covering both "inbound" and "outbound" channels.

2.6 Overall Assessment of the Full Chain: From "Point Promotion" to "Chain Experience"

The CTP Research Department believes the core breakthrough of "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" is upgrading inbound consumption from "point promotion" to "chain experience":

| Traditional Model | The "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" Model

|-------------------|---------------------------------------------

| Airport coupon handouts, one-way discounts | Check-in and sharing, two-way communication (consumption + word of mouth)

| Consumption scenes limited to the airport | A city-wide route of airport + urban landmarks + commercial districts + departure duty-free

| One-off promotion, no retention | Three-stop stamping, departure redemption, participation across the whole journey

| Communication, duty-free, tourism each go their own way | Airport × duty-free × telecom tri-party collaboration

| No content carrier | The bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" gift pack carries the city guide

3.1 MOFCOM's "Shopping in China" National Consumer Promotion Programme

The campaign name "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" directly echoes the Ministry of Commerce's "Shopping in China" national consumer promotion brand. The CTP Research Department sorts out the key milestones of the programme:

• Brand-driven advancement: At the National Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Working Conference held in Beijing on 22-23 January 2026, the focus for 2026 was set as "building the 'Shopping in China' brand and advancing the building of a strong domestic market", with deployment to "organise 'Shopping in China' city-specific events and local-stop activities". The conference disclosed that total retail sales of consumer goods in 2025 reached CNY50.1 trillion, surpassing CNY50 trillion for the first time, with consumption contributing 52.0% to GDP growth, and that "departure tax refunds grew rapidly and 'Shopping in China' became a hot word". Source: MOFCOM Official Website, 2026-01-23
• International Consumption Season launch: At a State Council Information Office press conference on 30 March 2026, MOFCOM introduced plans to launch measures optimising departure tax refunds to keep "Shopping in China" heating up, hold more than 20 key activities such as the International Consumption Season and Premium Consumption Month, and organise "Shopping in China" city-specific and local-stop events; Vice Minister Sheng Qiu Ping said the 2026 "Shopping in China" International Consumption Season would be launched at the Consumer Expo (13-18 April, Hainan), together with the 8th National Dual-Product Online Shopping Festival. Source: CCTV, 2026-03-30
• Dedicated events such as "Joyful New Year Shopping": MOFCOM and several departments jointly issued the 2026 "Joyful New Year Shopping" Spring Festival special activity (15-23 February), listing "facilitating inbound consumption" as one of five key support measures, proposing to "improve the payment environment for bank cards, mobile payment and cash" and "provide 'civil aviation + tourism' combination products for inbound travel". Source: MOFCOM, 2026

Moodie Davitt Report noted in its coverage that the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" campaign supports the broader "Shopping in China" national consumer promotional programme led by the Ministry of Commerce to encourage spending by domestic and international visitors. Moodie Davitt Report

3.2 Departure Tax Refund 2.0 Public Policy Background

Departure Tax Refund 2.0 is the most important public policy background for this campaign, and is a policy thread the CTP Research Department has been tracking since Blog 41 (the departure-tax-refund public policy mainline). This edition cites it only as public policy background and does not involve specific city case data.

• Policy document: Six ministries and agencies — the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration and the National Immigration Administration — jointly issued the "Notice on Intensifying Optimisation of Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption" (Shang Xiao Fei Fa 2026 No. 74) on 12 May 2026, effective 1 July 2026, with eight concrete measures focused on achieving "one more, one less, two modernisations" — more tax-refund stores, less waiting time for port verification, and paperless and standardised processing. Source: gov.cn, 2026-05-18; Source: MOFCOM Official Website
• Key points of the eight measures: ① Raise tax-refund store coverage (basically full coverage of key business districts, scenic spots, markets and ports); ② Introduce a small-amount sampling system (from 1 July 2026, refund slips with a refundable sales value below CNY10,000 are randomly sampled for physical verification); ③ Optimise the "Buy & Refund" service (promote cross-port mutual recognition and unify the departure period to 28 days); ④ Promote paperless refund processing (fully paperless from 1 July 2026); ⑤ Build exhibition tax-refund service platforms (set up departure-tax-refund service zones at the CIIE, Canton Fair and Consumer Expo); ⑥ Optimise the inbound consumption environment; ⑦ Strengthen policy publicity; ⑧ Conduct overseas promotion. Source: gov.cn, 2026-05-18
• The nationwide promotion of the "Shanghai experience": Shanghai has been at the forefront of departure-tax-refund facilitation — in April 2026, Shanghai Customs took the lead in deploying a new-generation intelligent departure-tax-refund verification terminal with video-call and English-translation capabilities and built-in voice translation; in the first five months of 2026, Shanghai Customs handled 201,000 departure-tax-refund verifications with tax-refund goods sales of CNY1.92 billion, up 300% and 62% year-on-year respectively, with a single-day peak exceeding 2,000 vouchers. Source: China National Radio / Beijing Daily, 2026-07-02

3.3 "Policy × Activity" Dual-Wheel Drive: How This Campaign Inherits Policy

Read against the policy coordinate system, the CTP Research Department sees the campaign's policy-inheritance logic clearly:

• Tax-refund policy side: Departure Tax Refund 2.0's "one more, one less, two modernisations" makes "Shopping in China" more time-saving and worry-free for overseas travellers; this campaign converts policy dividends into concrete consumption hooks through duty-free discount coupons and departure rewards;
• Entry policy side: The expanding visa-free and 240-hour transit visa-free policies provide a stable passenger-flow base (see Section 4 data); this campaign answers "how to convert passenger flow into consumption once travellers arrive";
• Payment-facilitation side: Shanghai launched the "Hu Xiao You" micro-hub on 20 August, with the supporting "Meet China" foreign-card payment terminal (no app download, no registration, foreign bank cards can pay directly), forming a payment loop with this campaign's duty-free consumption scenes (Source: Ruoxi Lunshi, 2026-08-21). Ruoxi Lunshi, 2026-08-21

4.1 H1 2026 Shanghai Inbound Passenger Flow: Visa-Free + 240-Hour Transit Visa-Free Exceed 2.046 Million

The core passenger-flow figure disclosed by Wenhui Daily is the "demand-side foundation" of this campaign: In H1 2026, over 2.046 million foreign travellers entered Shanghai under the visa-free and 240-hour transit visa-free policies, accounting for more than 60% of all inbound foreign travellers, as Shanghai's attraction as "China's first inbound tourism stop" continued to be released. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

The CTP Research Department's three-layer reading:

• Layer 1: Visa-free policy is Shanghai's "engine" of inbound passenger flow — over 2.046 million person-times and more than 60% of the total mean more than six in ten inbound foreign travellers entered Shanghai under visa-free or 240-hour transit visa-free policies, with the policy dividend directly translated into high-conversion "land-and-spend" passenger flow;
• Layer 2: Shanghai's hub position as "China's first inbound tourism stop" — the over-60% share of visa-free arrivals shows Shanghai is not only an international flight hub but also the gateway city that benefits most deeply from visa-free policy, echoing the "passenger-flow momentum" carried from Blog 51 (Shanghai Airport July international-route recovery / East China inbound gateway infrastructure);
• Layer 3: The passenger-flow base supports long-cycle campaign operations — the campaign runs to 31 December, covering the tail of the summer peak, the National Day golden week, the CIIE (every November) and the year-end outbound peak; the H1 2026 visa-free base of over 2.046 million person-times provides a sufficient "consumption-conversion pool" for H2 activities.

4.2 Shanghai Departure Tax Refund Data: 201,000 Vouchers / CNY1.92 Billion / Over 2,100 Tax-Refund Stores

Departure-tax-refund data is the core observation indicator of "inbound consumption conversion" (Source: China National Radio / Beijing Daily, 2026-07-02): China National Radio / Beijing Daily, 2026-07-02

| Indicator | Figure | YoY / Basis

|-----------|--------|-------------

| Shanghai Jan-May tax-refund verifications | 201,000 vouchers | +300% YoY

| Shanghai Jan-May tax-refund goods sales | CNY1.92 billion | +62% YoY

| Shanghai tax-refund stores | Over 2,100 | Building a "25 city-wide refund points + 17 business-district centralised refund points + N single-store refund points" network

| 2025 Shanghai tax-refund sales | +80% YoY | China National Radio data

| Nationwide tax-refund stores | 14,000 | About 4x the end-2024 level

| 2025 nationwide tax-refund sales | Nearly +100% YoY | One year equals the prior decade's total

| 2025 nationwide tax-refund recipients | 270,000 people | +300% YoY

| Five international consumption centres (Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing) | 1/3 of inbound foreigners, 2/3 of tax-refund sales | Over 13,000 brand first stores / flagship stores introduced in 5 years

The CTP Research Department's three observations:

• Observation 1: Rapid refund growth shows "Shopping in China" moving from slogan to data — 201,000 vouchers, CNY1.92 billion, +300%/+62% YoY, proving that overseas travellers' willingness to spend in Shanghai and refund convenience are rising together;
• Observation 2: Shanghai's 2,100+ tax-refund stores and the nationwide 14,000 form an "offline receiving network" — the rising density of tax-refund stores allows the dual-track consumption scene of "duty-free stores + tax-refund stores" to cover airports, business districts and scenic spots; this campaign's duty-free discount coupons complement Departure Tax Refund 2.0;
• Observation 3: The five international consumption centres' "1/3 of person-times, 2/3 of tax-refund sales" — shows that head cities such as Shanghai bear the core carrying capacity of inbound consumption, and this campaign is a concentrated expression of that city-level carrying capacity.

4.3 "Hu Xiao You" Micro-Hub and "Meet China" Foreign-Card Payment: The Consumption-Facilitation Foundation

On 20 August 2026, Shanghai officially launched the "Hu Xiao You" micro-hub, a new culture-commerce-sports-exhibition-tourism integrated service platform; as planned, 100 service points will be deployed across the city before the 48th World Skills Competition, covering airports, key hotels, event venues and core scenic spots, providing one-stop comprehensive services for domestic and international visitors. Its biggest feature is the combination of an online AI agent with offline physical terminals, supporting multilingual intelligent Q&A, precise positioning and intelligent travel-route planning, tailored to overseas travellers. The supporting "Meet China" foreign-card payment terminal requires no app download and no registration — overseas travellers can pay directly with foreign bank cards, effectively solving the common pain point of "difficulty paying" for overseas visitors. Source: Ruoxi Lunshi, 2026-08-21

The relationship between this "service + payment" foundation and the campaign: "Hu Xiao You" solves the "how to play after arriving in Shanghai" guidance problem, "Meet China" solves the "how to spend money" payment problem, and this campaign solves the "where is it cheaper to spend" consumption-decision problem — together, the three form a complete puzzle for the facilitation of inbound consumption in Shanghai.

4.4 Shanghai Inbound Source-Market Structure and Its Mapping to This Campaign

As "China's first inbound tourism gateway", Shanghai's inbound source markets are diverse. Based on public data, the CTP Research Department maps Shanghai's major source markets / regions to the campaign's gameplay as follows:

| Source Market | Representative Source Countries/Regions | Traveller Profile | Corresponding Campaign Play

|---------------|------------------------------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------

| Europe long-haul | UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain | Business + culture, longer stays, high per-capita spend | City-walk three-stop stamping + Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage + Departure Tax Refund 2.0

| North America long-haul | US, Canada | Diaspora visits + business + deep travel | Bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" + departure reward redemption

| Japan-Korea short-haul | Japan, South Korea | Weekend / mini-holiday short trips, strong shopping motivation | Duty-free check-in + CNY850 SIM bonus + summer-promotion draw

| Southeast Asia short-haul | Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia | Family + holiday travellers, high repeat-visit rate | Low-threshold check-in pack + dining linkage + social sharing

| Australia-NZ | Australia, New Zealand | Counter-season holidays + deep cultural travel | Bilingual guide + collectible Year-of-the-Horse gift

The CTP Research Department's three observations:

• Observation 1: The short-haul market's "shopping motivation" aligns highly with duty-free promotions — Japan-Korea and Southeast Asian travellers feature high frequency, short stays and strong shopping; the campaign's low-threshold incentives of "arrival check-in + spend-to-earn SIM + summer-promotion draw" hit their consumption habits squarely;
• Observation 2: The long-haul market's "depth motivation" aligns with the city walk — European and North American travellers stay longer and pursue cultural depth; the three-stop stamping (Wukang Mansion / Columbia Circle / Xingfuli) and Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage serve their "China cultural experience" needs;
• Observation 3: The social-sharing design amplifies international communication — arrival check-in requires "sharing on overseas social media"; the sharing by European, North American, Japan-Korea and Southeast Asian travellers on overseas social platforms becomes the international communication node of the "Shanghai Stroll Guide".

5.1 The Industrial Logic of Tri-Party Collaboration

Moodie Davitt Report pointed out that the campaign draws on the strengths of all three companies: Shanghai Airport Group provides promotional space and passenger support across Shanghai's two international airports; China Telecom contributes interactive digital touchpoints and SIM card promotions; and CDFG leads the retail offering through its Shanghai Joyful City Pass, which combines duty-free shopping benefits with city-guide services. Moodie Davitt Report

The CTP Research Department distils this collaboration into a "traffic × retail × connectivity" triangle model:

```

Shanghai Airport (traffic entry)

/ \

passenger-flow supply consumption scenes

/ \

CDFG (retail supply) ────── China Telecom (connectivity)

duty-free goods + city guide SIM cards + digital interaction

```

• Shanghai Airport supplies "traffic × scenes": the Pudong + Hongqiao dual airports are the first physical touchpoint for international travellers entering Shanghai; the airports provide arrivals/departures duty-free store space, terminal marketing positions and passenger services, serving as the campaign's "entrance" and "exit";
• CDFG supplies "retail × content": through the Shanghai Joyful City Pass, CDFG binds duty-free shopping benefits with city-guide services, providing both retail supply (arrivals/departures duty-free stores, brand matrix) and content carriers (bilingual guide, City Walk map, Year-of-the-Horse gift);
• China Telecom supplies "connectivity × interaction": the 7-day SIM card solves "connect on landing", the Hello Old Friends telephone-booth installation solves the "city-culture touchpoint", and interactive digital touchpoints solve "gamified activation".

5.2 How Tri-Party Collaboration Amplifies Inbound Consumption

• A "combination punch" of consumption incentives: the CNY850 SIM bonus (Telecom) + CNY888 spend-lottery (CDFG) + duty-free coupons (CDFG) + departure Year-of-the-Horse gift (CDFG) form a tiered incentive ladder of "low-threshold participation (check-in for the pack) → medium-threshold spending (CNY850+) → high-threshold repurchase (CNY888+ draw)";
• All-space scene coverage: from the airport arrivals duty-free store to Wukang Mansion and Columbia Circle / Xingfuli, and back to the airport departures duty-free store, tri-party collaboration connects all consumption spaces of "airport—city—airport";
• Two-way data loop: three-stop stamping is both a consumption route and a passenger-flow tracking mechanism, providing multi-dimensional data value to the airport (traveller profiles), the duty-free operator (consumption preferences) and the telecom operator (connectivity usage).

5.3 The Replicable Template of Tri-Party Collaboration

The CTP Research Department believes this "airport + duty-free + telecom" tri-party collaboration has template value for replication at other port cities (see Section 8):

| Element | Shanghai Practice | Replication Points

|---------|-------------------|--------------------

| Traffic party | Shanghai Airport (Pudong + Hongqiao) | Airport / port operators provide scenes and marketing space

| Retail party | CDFG (cdf Shanghai Airport duty-free store) | Duty-free operators provide retail supply + city-guide content

| Connectivity party | China Telecom (SIM cards + interactive installations) | Telecom operators solve connect-on-landing + digital interaction

| Content carrier | Bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" / "Shanghai Joyful City Pass" | Bilingual guide tools carry city content

| Chain design | Arrival check-in → City walk → Departure reward | Covers the full journey of "landing → sightseeing → departure"

5.4 CDFG Shanghai Airport Duty-Free Store's Commercial Foundation: From "Arrivals Store" to "Domestic Brand Zone"

This campaign is built on the CDFG (cdf) Shanghai Airport duty-free store as its retail core, and its commercial foundation deserves separate explanation (Source: CDFG Official Website / CDFG Shanghai): CDFG Official Website, 2026-07-02

• cdf Shanghai Airport duty-free store opened brand new on 1 January 2026: located in the international zones of Shanghai Pudong International Airport T2, the S2 satellite concourse and Hongqiao T1, bringing together globally renowned beauty, general merchandise, tobacco & liquor and food brands, supporting in-store selection and online pre-order with airport pick-up. CDFG was established in 1984 and is the state-designated exclusive operator of duty-free business nationwide; it operates more than 200 duty-free stores at home and abroad, serving nearly 200 million passengers a year, and is one of the world's largest duty-free operators. Source: CDFG Shanghai Airport Duty-Free Official Website
• On 2 July 2026, the domestic-brand zone in Pudong T2's international departure area opened: under the Caishui Guan 2025 No. 19 duty-free policy (effective 1 November 2025, under which sales of domestic goods at port departure duty-free stores are treated as exports with VAT and consumption tax refunded/exempted), the zone covers over 200 square metres — the largest single-airport duty-free domestic-brand space since the policy took effect — forming a domestic-brand matrix across beauty (Winona, Dr.Yu, Comfrey, HBN, CHANDO, etc.), tobacco & liquor (Kweichow Moutai, Wuliangye, Guojiao 1573, Yanghe Select, etc.), intangible-heritage cultural products & designer toys, and food & health products; CDFG will also roll out a domestic-brand zone at Hongqiao. Source: CDFG Official Website, 2026-07-02

The three-layer support this foundation gives the campaign:

• Support 1: "Inbound + outbound" two-channel duty-free nodes — cdf Shanghai Airport duty-free stores cover Pudong T2, S2 and Hongqiao T1, providing the physical carrier for "arrival check-in (arrivals store) → departure reward (departures store)";
• Support 2: The "domestic-brand zone" carries the "Shopping in China" domestic-brand narrative — the zone lets overseas travellers encounter Chinese brands directly in the duty-free store, echoing the "Shopping in China" brand and the domestic-goods policy of departure tax refunds;
• Support 3: Dual-airport outlets support the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai linkage" return scene — travellers returning via Pudong or Hongqiao can both cover duty-free purchases and reward redemption, providing flexibility for the return-segment design of CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city routes.

6.1 Why Jiangsu-Zhejiang: The Radiation Logic of Shanghai's Consumption Momentum

"Shanghai, In Shanghai" uses the Pudong and Hongqiao airports as its entry points, but its consumption momentum naturally radiates into the Yangtze River Delta — precisely the receiving logic of the "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai" block within CTP's four provinces (Guangdong / Jiangsu-Zhejiang / Hunan / Yunnan):

• Geographic radiation: high-speed rail travel from Shanghai to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi and other core Jiangsu-Zhejiang cities is generally within 30 minutes to 2 hours; after completing the "city walk" in Shanghai, inbound travellers can naturally extend to Jiangsu-Zhejiang destinations, forming an "Shanghai entry + Jiangsu-Zhejiang deep travel + Shanghai departure" itinerary structure;
• Consumption radiation: the discount coupons and Stroll Guide obtained at Shanghai airport duty-free stores can serve as the "guidebook starting point" for Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage itineraries; CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products can connect the "Shanghai Joyful City Pass"-style city guide with Suzhou-Hangzhou culture and Jiangnan water-town content;
• Policy radiation: Departure Tax Refund 2.0 introduces cross-port mutual recognition for "Buy & Refund" and unifies the departure window to 28 days — travellers can shop in Shanghai and complete tax refunds when departing from other cities (Source: China National Radio / Beijing Daily, 2026-07-02), providing policy facilitation for "Shanghai shopping + Jiangsu-Zhejiang sightseeing + out-of-city departure tax refund". China National Radio / Beijing Daily, 2026-07-02

6.2 Three Levers for CTP Jiangsu-Zhejiang Receiving

• Lever 1: Seize the "land-and-spend" conversion window — this campaign gives inbound travellers consumption incentives "from the moment they land"; CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products can offer an "airport pickup + city-walk guide + duty-free shopping guidance" package at the first stop (Shanghai), converting campaign traffic into multi-city orders;
• Lever 2: Carry the city content of the "Stroll Guide" — the bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" is the campaign's core content carrier; CTP can connect it with Jiangsu-Zhejiang guide content (Suzhou gardens, Hangzhou West Lake, Jiangnan water towns) to form a content continuum of "Shanghai stroll + Jiangsu-Zhejiang depth";
• Lever 3: Carry the departure scene of the "return reward" — inbound travellers redeem the Year-of-the-Horse gift at Pudong T2 departures duty-free store on the way out; CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage products can design "reserved duty-free shopping and reward redemption time on the return day" to optimise the return-journey experience.

6.3 CTP Jiangsu-Zhejiang Receiving: Market Judgement

The CTP Research Department's judgement of the market value of this campaign for CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang receiving has two points:

• The campaign provides a natural traffic hook for "Shanghai entry + Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage" — travellers come for duty-free benefits and check-in gameplay; CTP can use "the new inbound consumption experience" as a differentiating selling point for Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products;
• The campaign creates a new itinerary category of "Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai linkage + departure duty-free" — beyond traditional "landing group / FIT" products, "duty-free check-in + city walk + departure reward" can serve as a new product narrative line, forming a product loop with the infrastructure story chain of Blog 51 (Shanghai Airport July international-route recovery / East China linkage).

Section 7. CTP Flagship Route Design: Three "Shanghai Inbound Consumption" Receiving Routes

Combining the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" campaign with CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city product logic, the CTP Research Department designs three flagship routes (connecting the Blog 51 East China linkage story chain):

Route 1: Shanghai Entry — Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai City-Walk FIT Line — A "Land-and-Check-In + City Walk + Departure Reward" FIT Template

Route positioning: aimed at mid-to-high-end FIT travellers who enjoy this campaign's benefits, turning "arrival check-in → city walk → departure reward" into a freely combinable FIT itinerary.

Itinerary design (7-day reference):

• D1 Shanghai entry: land at Pudong/Hongqiao → check in at CDFG arrivals duty-free store and share → receive the bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide" → (CNY850+ spend at Pudong T2 for a 7-day China Telecom SIM card) → The Bund night view;
• D2 Shanghai city walk: check in at Wukang Mansion (CDFG × China Telecom co-branded booth interactive game) → check in at Columbia Circle / Xingfuli → collect all three stamps;
• D3 Shanghai → Suzhou: high-speed rail 30 minutes → Humble Administrator's Garden / Suzhou Museum → Pingjiang Road;
• D4 Suzhou → Hangzhou: West Lake / Lingyin Temple → Hefang Street;
• D5 Hangzhou → Wuzhen / Xitang: Jiangnan water-town deep tour;
• D6 Return to Shanghai: Nanjing Road shopping (tax-refund store purchases) → Yu Garden;
• D7 Shanghai departure: redeem the CDFG Shanghai Year-of-the-Horse gift at Pudong T2 departures duty-free store → depart (complete "Buy & Refund" under Departure Tax Refund 2.0).

CTP receiving value: seamlessly connects the campaign's three-stop stamping with Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai linkage; "Shanghai Stroll Guide + Jiangsu-Zhejiang guide" forms an all-journey bilingual guide, and the departure reward plus departure tax refund constitute a "double departure gift".

Route 2: Pudong Entry — Suzhou & Hangzhou Linkage Line — A "Land-and-Spend + Two-City Depth" Business-Leisure Line

Route positioning: aimed at travellers entering via Pudong who balance business and leisure, highlighting the landing convenience of "CNY850+ spend at Pudong T2 for a SIM card" and the deep experience of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Itinerary design (6-day reference):

• D1 Pudong entry: check in at CDFG arrivals duty-free store → spend CNY850+ at Pudong T2 for a 7-day China Telecom SIM card (connect on landing) → Lujiazui;
• D2 Shanghai: Yu Garden + The Bund + Wukang Mansion city walk (stamp collecting);
• D3 Shanghai → Suzhou: high-speed rail → Suzhou Industrial Park business visit + Jinji Lake → Shantang Street;
• D4 Suzhou → Hangzhou: high-speed rail → West Lake business stroll + Lingyin Temple;
• D5 Hangzhou → Shanghai: return → concentrated shopping at Nanjing Road business-district tax-refund stores;
• D6 Pudong departure: redeem the Year-of-the-Horse gift at Pudong T2 departures duty-free store → depart.

CTP receiving value: makes the telecom benefit of "CNY850+ spend for a SIM card at Pudong" a product selling point, solving the "connect on landing" necessity for business travellers; the Suzhou-Hangzhou itinerary carries the passenger-flow spillover from "Shanghai's first inbound tourism stop".

Route 3: Yangtze River Delta Port — Duty-Free Shopping Line — A "Dual-Airport Duty-Free + Departure Tax Refund 2.0" Dedicated Shopping Line

Route positioning: aimed at shopping-motivated inbound source markets (the "Shopping in China" target travellers from Europe, the US, Japan-Korea and Southeast Asia), focusing on a dedicated shopping itinerary through the "duty-free + tax-refund" dual channel (connecting Blog 51's Shanghai dual-airport gateway / East China linkage).

Itinerary design (5-day reference):

• D1 Entry: land at Pudong/Hongqiao → check in at CDFG arrivals duty-free store to receive the "Shanghai Stroll Guide" pack (with duty-free coupons) → downtown;
• D2 Shanghai shopping day: concentrated purchases at tax-refund stores on Nanjing Road / New Bund (2,100+ tax-refund stores, "Buy & Refund" supported) → Wukang Mansion telephone-booth interaction to win coupons;
• D3 Suzhou / Hangzhou: business leisure + purchases at Suzhou/Hangzhou tax-refund stores (Departure Tax Refund 2.0 "Buy & Refund" cross-port mutual recognition, 28-day departure window);
• D4 Return to Shanghai: duty-free top-up + concentrated shopping;
• D5 Pudong departure: spend at the departures duty-free store (the "Shanghai Summer, Fun Now" summer promotion with a 100% win rate for CNY888+ purchases) → redeem the Year-of-the-Horse gift → complete the departure-tax-refund verification → depart.

CTP receiving value: packages the four-fold consumption incentives of "duty-free coupons + Tax Refund 2.0 + summer-promotion draw + departure reward" into a dedicated shopping line, a productised expression of the "Shopping in China" policy dividend at Yangtze River Delta ports.

Flagship Route Summary

| Route | Target Traveller | Core Selling Points | Policy / Campaign Linkage

|-------|------------------|---------------------|---------------------------

| Route 1: Shanghai entry — Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai city-walk FIT line | Mid-to-high-end FIT / independent | Three-stop stamping + departure reward + all-journey bilingual guide | Stroll Guide / Year-of-the-Horse gift / Departure Tax Refund 2.0

| Route 2: Pudong entry — Suzhou & Hangzhou linkage line | Business-leisure travellers | CNY850+ SIM bonus + Suzhou-Hangzhou two-city depth | Pudong T2 spend-to-earn / Telecom SIM card

| Route 3: Yangtze River Delta port — duty-free shopping line | Shopping-motivated source markets | Duty-free + tax refund + summer promotion + departure reward | Summer-promotion CNY888 draw / Tax Refund 2.0 / CIIE

8.1 Nationwide Replication Conditions for the "Airport + Duty-Free + Telecom" Tri-Party Collaboration

"Shanghai, In Shanghai" is not a one-off marketing activity but a replicable "inbound consumption promotion" paradigm. The CTP Research Department analyses the replication potential of other ports from a condition-maturity perspective:

The four conditions required for replication:

| Condition | Description | Port Types Already Equipped

|-----------|-------------|------------------------------

| ① Inbound passenger-flow base | Requires stable international routes and visa-free / transit-visa-free passenger flow | Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other international aviation hubs

| ② Duty-free retail node | Requires a duty-free store system covering "inbound + outbound" | Entry/exit duty-free stores at international airports

| ③ Telecom collaboration | Requires local telecom operators (SIM cards / digital touchpoints) | Every provincial telecom operator can take it on

| ④ City content carrier | Requires landmarks / business districts / culture-commerce-tourism integrated blocks for "city walks" | Every international consumption centre city

Replication-feasibility tiering:

• Highly replicable: international aviation hubs such as Beijing (Capital + Daxing), Guangzhou (Baiyun) and Shenzhen (Bao'an), which have duty-free retail systems and telecom-collaboration conditions, can quickly replicate the "arrival check-in + departure reward" foundation;
• Moderately replicable: regional hubs and emerging international consumption centres such as Chengdu, Hangzhou and Chongqing can do a "light version" replication (e.g. single airport + single landmark check-in) combining local duty-free formats and cultural landmarks;
• Condition-supplementary type: second-tier port cities need first to fill the two infrastructure gaps of "duty-free retail node + telecom collaboration" before launching similar campaigns.

8.2 Four Observations on Industry Extension

• Observation 1: Duty-free operators shift from "selling goods" to "city-guide operators" — CDFG's combination of duty-free shopping and city guides through the Shanghai Joyful City Pass marks the transformation of leading duty-free operators from "retail channels" to "inbound consumption content platforms";
• Observation 2: Telecom operators become new touchpoints of inbound consumption — China Telecom's entry into the inbound scene with SIM cards and interactive installations upgrades communication capability from "infrastructure" to "consumption incentive tool", opening an incremental market of inbound travellers for operators;
• Observation 3: "Stamp collecting + departure redemption" becomes a common inbound-consumption gameplay — from the three-stop city-walk stamping to the departure Year-of-the-Horse gift, the "gamified consumption chain" is expected to become standard equipment for inbound consumption campaigns at various ports;
• Observation 4: The policy × market dual-wheel window is opening — Departure Tax Refund 2.0 (effective 1 July), the "Shopping in China" International Consumption Season, the 240-hour transit visa-free policy and other policies are stacking up to provide a policy window for ports to replicate the Shanghai model.

8.3 Localisation Considerations When Replicating

• Content localisation: city-walk stops must dig into each port's unique landmarks and culture-commerce-tourism blocks rather than copying "Wukang Mansion-style" stops;
• Traveller differentiation: different ports have different source-market structures (Europe/US long-haul, Japan-Korea short-haul, Southeast Asia near-haul), so consumption-incentive transaction thresholds and gameplay must be differentiated;
• Data compliance: stamp collecting and social-media sharing involve passenger-flow and personal information and must comply with data-compliance requirements;
• Avoid involution-style subsidies: tri-party collaboration should centre on "experience upgrade" rather than degenerating into a simple price-subsidy war.

9.1 Risk Alerts

The CTP Research Department, combining this campaign's information with the macro environment of inbound consumption, sorts out five major risk points and response suggestions:

Risk 1: Policy-rhythm risk — policy dividends such as Departure Tax Refund 2.0 and visa-free expansion are important supports for this campaign; if policy execution details (such as refund sampling ratios or duty-free quotas) change, the campaign experience may be affected. Response: CTP reserves policy flexibility in its receiving routes and closely tracks official positions.

Risk 2: Passenger-flow fluctuation risk — the campaign runs to 31 December; if international route recovery falls short in H2 or geopolitical factors affect source markets, the H1 2026 visa-free base of over 2.046 million person-times may fluctuate. Response: use "duty-free + tax refund + tourism" composite incentives to raise per-capita spend and conversion, hedging passenger-flow fluctuations.

Risk 3: Tri-party operational risk — the consistency of system integration, data sharing and activity execution across the airport, duty-free and telecom parties is a variable of landing quality. Response: clarify tri-party responsibilities and SOPs, and establish a unified traveller-service standard.

Risk 4: Experience-gap risk — if "stamp collecting + departure redemption" encounters insufficient stock or complicated redemption processes, word of mouth may backfire. Response: control the scale of limited gifts, optimise the redemption process and manage expectations.

Risk 5: Peer competition and homogenisation risk — the model replicates quickly, and ports that simply copy it may fall into homogenisation. Response: build differentiation barriers through local cultural content, traveller differentiation and service experience.

9.2 Outlook: H2 2026 to 2027

Short term (H2 2026):

• The campaign runs to 31 December, covering the tail of the summer peak, the National Day golden week, the CIIE (November) and the year-end outbound peak, and is expected to become Shanghai's "passenger-flow engine" for inbound consumption in H2;
• New policies under Departure Tax Refund 2.0 (effective 1 July) — cross-port mutual recognition of "Buy & Refund" and the unified 28-day departure window — will continue to amplify the "duty-free + tax refund" dual-channel consumption appeal;
• The "Hu Xiao You" micro-hub will deploy 100 service points before the World Skills Competition (the 48th World Skills Competition), forming "service + consumption" synergy with this campaign's duty-free consumption scenes.

Medium term (2027):

• The "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" model is expected to upgrade into a normal operating mechanism for Shanghai's inbound consumption, possibly launching city-walk routes with different themes by quarter;
• The "airport + duty-free + telecom" tri-party collaboration is expected to expand into a multi-party collaboration of "airport + duty-free + telecom + banks (payment) + OTA (booking)";
• The transformation of duty-free operators into "city-guide operators" will accelerate, and inbound consumption will upgrade from "shopping" to "shopping + content + experience".

Long term (2028-2030):

• Combined with the "Shopping in China" International Consumption Season, the deepening of Departure Tax Refund 2.0 and visa-free policy expansion, "inbound consumption promotion" will enter a normalised, platform-based stage;
• Shanghai's positioning as "China's first inbound tourism stop" will extend to "China's first inbound consumption gateway", forming long-term synergy with CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products.

Section 10. FAQ: The Ten Questions Inbound-Tourism Practitioners Ask Most

Targeting the questions most frequently raised by travel agencies, guides, inbound travellers and port operators about "Shopping in China, In Shanghai", the CTP Research Department compiles the following FAQ:

Q1: When does the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" campaign end, and which airports does it cover?

A: The campaign runs until 31 December and covers Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao international airports. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q2: How do inbound travellers receive the "Shanghai Stroll Guide" gift pack, and what is inside?

A: Travellers landing at Pudong/Hongqiao check in at CDFG duty-free stores and share on overseas social media to receive a bilingual (Chinese-English) "Shanghai Stroll Guide" gift pack, containing a bilingual city guide map and duty-free discount coupons. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q3: What is the condition for the Pudong SIM card benefit?

A: Spend at least CNY850 at the Pudong T2 arrivals duty-free store to receive a complimentary 7-day China Telecom SIM card (with voice and data), "enjoying communication convenience from the moment you land". Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q4: Which three stops does the City Walk require stamping?

A: Collect stamps at the "Shanghai Airport arrivals duty-free store", "Wukang Mansion" and "Columbia Circle / Xingfuli (Happiness Lane)". Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q5: What is the reward after collecting all three stamps, and where is it redeemed?

A: On the way out via Shanghai Pudong Airport T2, travellers can redeem the CDFG Shanghai Year-of-the-Horse limited-edition gift at the departures duty-free store. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q6: What is the Wukang Mansion telephone booth, and how do I play?

A: It is a trendy landmark co-created by CDFG and China Telecom; travellers joining interactive games in the booth can win more duty-free coupons, realising "play, walk and save as you go". Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q7: How do I join the "Shanghai Summer, Fun Now" summer promotion?

A: From now until 31 August, a single purchase of CNY888+ in the Pudong T2, S2 or Hongqiao T1 duty-free areas qualifies for a lottery draw with a 100% win rate; prizes include snack vouchers, dining vouchers, skincare gift boxes and brand cultural products. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q8: Are there exclusive offers for summer students and overseas students? How can domestic travellers participate?

A: Fresh college- and gaokao-graduates and outbound students can join an exclusive extra draw with valid ID; domestic travellers who follow the official Xiaohongshu account and post campaign-related content can collect a souvenir on site; spending at designated restaurants such as Chagee, Blue Frog and Omills at Pudong Airport earns duty-free redemption coupons. Source: Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer, 2026-08-22

Q9: What product opportunities does this campaign offer travel agencies / inbound operators?

A: The CTP Research Department suggests designing "arrival check-in → city walk → departure reward" into Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city FIT or semi-FIT products (see the three flagship routes in Section 7), using duty-free coupons, SIM-card benefits and departure rewards as differentiating selling points, and connecting with the cross-port mutual recognition convenience of "Buy & Refund" under Departure Tax Refund 2.0.

Q10: How does Departure Tax Refund 2.0 relate to this campaign?

A: Departure Tax Refund 2.0 (effective 1 July 2026) focuses on "one more, one less, two modernisations" — more tax-refund stores, less port-verification waiting time, and paperless and standardised processing — making "Shopping in China" more convenient for overseas travellers; the campaign's duty-free coupons and the tax-refund policy form a complementary "duty-free + tax refund" dual channel. Source: gov.cn, 2026-05-18

Section 11. CTA · Contact CTP

ChinaTravelPlus (CTP) has long cultivated inbound tourism in Yunnan, Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Hunan, providing global inbound operators, travel agencies and guides with a one-stop "policy + channel + product + equipment" service. Around the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" inbound consumption experience, CTP can provide:

• Day-by-day itineraries and quotation templates for the three CTP flagship routes (Shanghai entry — Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai city-walk FIT line / Pudong entry — Suzhou & Hangzhou linkage line / Yangtze River Delta port — duty-free shopping line);
• Traveller-service SOPs and duty-free consumption guidance for the full chain of "arrival check-in → city walk → departure reward";
• "Duty-free + tax refund" dual-channel combination plans for Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products (including the connection with Departure Tax Refund 2.0);
• Industry research reports on the airport + duty-free + telecom tri-party collaboration model and port replication assessments;
• Policy tracking, data collaboration and joint content creation related to inbound consumption promotion.

Sam · Sam@ChinaTravelPlus.com · WhatsApp: +86 150 9633 5677

Luppy · Luppy@ChinaTravelPlus.com

Official Website: https://chinatravelplus.com

Reply "In-Shanghai-60-EN" to receive the bilingual PDF version of this blog + day-by-day itineraries of the three CTP flagship routes + the "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" campaign landing execution checklist. We look forward to joining hands with you to turn the inbound-consumption momentum of "airport + duty-free + telecom" tri-party collaboration into growth for CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products and the quality of the China Travel experience.

Appendix A: "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" Campaign Quick Reference

| Item | Key Points

|------|-----------

| Campaign name | "Shopping in China, In Shanghai"

| Three parties | Shanghai Airport × CDFG × China Telecom

| Airports covered | Shanghai Pudong & Hongqiao

| Campaign period | Until 31 December

| Full chain | Arrival check-in → City walk → Departure reward

| Arrival check-in | Check in at CDFG arrivals duty-free store + share on overseas social media → receive bilingual "Shanghai Stroll Guide"

| Pudong bonus | CNY850+ at T2 arrivals duty-free store → 7-day China Telecom SIM card (voice + data)

| City walk | Three-stop stamping: Shanghai Airport arrivals duty-free store / Wukang Mansion / Columbia Circle · Xingfuli

| Departure reward | Redeem the CDFG Shanghai Year-of-the-Horse gift at Pudong T2 departures duty-free store

| Co-branded landmark | CDFG × China Telecom Wukang Mansion telephone booth (Hello Old Friends) interactive games to win duty-free coupons

| Summer promotion | "Shanghai Summer, Fun Now" (until 31 August)

| Summer promotion scope | Pudong T2, S2, Hongqiao T1 duty-free areas

| Summer promotion rules | CNY888+ single purchase lottery, 100% win rate

| Summer promotion prizes | Snack vouchers / dining vouchers / skincare gift boxes / brand cultural products

| Exclusive draw | Fresh college- and gaokao-graduates & outbound students (with valid ID)

| Social-media interaction | Domestic travellers follow official Xiaohongshu account & post → souvenir on site

| Dining linkage | Chagee / Blue Frog / Omills and other designated restaurants → duty-free redemption coupons

| English counterpart | Shanghai Joyful City Pass

Appendix B: Glossary

• Shopping in China: the national consumer promotion brand built by the Ministry of Commerce, promoting spending by domestic and international visitors through the International Consumption Season, city-specific events and departure-tax-refund optimisation;
• In Shanghai: part of this campaign's name, echoing the "Shopping in China" brand while highlighting Shanghai as the campaign's landing city;
• Shanghai Joyful City Pass: CDFG's Shanghai city pass combining duty-free shopping benefits with city-guide services, the retail content carrier of this campaign;
• Shanghai Stroll Guide: the bilingual gift pack issued by this campaign, containing a bilingual city guide map and duty-free discount coupons;
• Arrival check-in / City walk / Departure reward: the campaign's three full-chain segments covering "landing → sightseeing → departure";
• Departure Tax Refund 2.0: the abbreviation of the "Notice on Intensifying Optimisation of Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption" issued by six ministries on 12 May 2026 and effective 1 July 2026, with eight measures focused on "one more, one less, two modernisations";
• Buy & Refund: a service under which eligible overseas travellers can complete tax refunds at ports immediately after shopping at tax-refund stores; 2.0 promotes cross-port mutual recognition and unifies the departure period to 28 days;
• Hu Xiao You micro-hub: Shanghai's culture-commerce-sports-exhibition-tourism integrated service platform launched on 20 August 2026, with 100 service points planned before the World Skills Competition and the supporting "Meet China" foreign-card payment terminal;
• 240-hour transit visa-free: a policy under which eligible nationals with ordinary passports and connecting tickets can stay visa-free for up to 240 hours (10 days) in specified areas while transiting China to a third country/region (cited here as inbound passenger-flow background).

Appendix C: CTP Four-Province Receiving Map Quick Reference

| Front | Core Entry | Primary Source Markets | Flagship Route | Campaign Selling Points

|-------|-----------|------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------

| Jiangsu-Zhejiang | Shanghai Pudong/Hongqiao + Hangzhou Xiaoshan | Europe/US, Japan-Korea business FIT + families | Route 1 / Route 2 | Three-stop stamping + departure reward + Jiangsu-Zhejiang linkage

| Jiangsu-Zhejiang | Shanghai + Suzhou/Hangzhou high-speed-rail nodes | Shopping-motivated travellers | Route 3 | Duty-free + tax refund + summer promotion + CIIE

| Guangdong | Shenzhen Bao'an / Guangzhou Baiyun | Southeast Asia, Europe/US inbound groups | (Replicable) | Airport + duty-free + telecom tri-party model

| Hunan | Changsha Huanghua / Zhangjiajie | Europe/US nature, Southeast Asia families | (Replicable) | City walk + departure reward gameplay

> Appendix note: the quick-reference tables and glossary above are meant to help practitioners get started quickly; campaign execution details are subject to official releases by Shanghai Airport, CDFG and China Telecom, and policy execution details are subject to official releases by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Immigration Administration and other authorities.

Section 13. URL Matrix (20 Official/Authoritative Sources)

1. Wenhui Daily / Shanghai Observer "Shanghai Airports Create a New Inbound Consumption Experience" (2026-08-22): https://www.jfdaily.com/wx/detail.do?id=1164361

1. Wenhui Toutiao "Shanghai Airports Create a New Inbound Consumption Experience" (2026-08-22): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7676849073731519017/

1. Moodie Davitt Report "CDFG joins forces with airport and telecom partners to drive Shanghai visitor spending" (2026-08-06): https://moodiedavittreport.com/cdfg-joins-forces-with-airport-and-telecom-partners-to-drive-shanghai-visitor-spending/

1. China National Radio / Beijing Daily "Up 300% YoY! Departure Tax Refund 2.0 makes 'Shopping in China' more convenient" (2026-07-02): https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s6a46045ae4b0e45f3fd3f402.html

1. Ruoxi Lunshi "Welcoming the World Skills Competition! Shanghai debuts 'Hu Xiao You' micro-hub" (2026-08-21): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7676311760638575148/

1. gov.cn "Notice of the Ministry of Commerce and other six departments on intensifying optimisation of departure tax refund measures to expand inbound consumption" (2026-05-18): https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202605/content_7069242.htm

1. gov.cn "China intensifies optimisation of departure tax refund measures to expand inbound consumption" (Xinhua, 2026-05-18): https://www.gov.cn/lianbo/202605/content_7069235.htm

1. MOFCOM Official Website "Notice of the Ministry of Commerce and other six departments on intensifying optimisation of departure tax refund measures to expand inbound consumption" (2026-05-18): http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/gnmygl/art/2026/art_35c1ba34d3034b3ea575ed85efd29070.html

1. CCTV "Combination punches of 'greater strength, more precision, more warmth' to boost consumption; 'Shopping in China' keeps heating up" (2026-03-30): https://news.cctv.cn/2026/03/30/ARTIyVUg6YIRjvMrVsxMzoTE260330.shtml

1. CCTV "China becomes a gathering place of global good products; Departure Tax Refund 2.0 makes shopping more convenient and affordable for overseas travellers" (2026-03-31): https://news.cctv.cn/2026/03/31/ARTIBy6m53KpWFwMIDGRv6IS260331.shtml

1. MOFCOM "2026 'Joyful New Year Shopping' Spring Festival special activity": http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/cms_files/filemanager/policySummary/viewcore_0674c207c717428292429a259a4c41c0.html

1. MOFCOM Official Website "National Market Operation and Consumption Promotion Working Conference held in Beijing" (2026-01-23): http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/syxwfb/art/2026/art_ce604b3ab8214261b0e4f77c41144fa3.html

1. CDFG Official Website "Tide rises at the national gate, domestic brands sail afar — the national benchmark airport duty-free domestic-brand zone lands at cdf Shanghai Airport duty-free store" (2026-07-02): https://www.cdfg.com.cn/guomen-guoguojichangguoqudicdfshangjichangdian/8023.html

1. CDFG Shanghai Airport Duty-Free Official Website: http://www.cdfshanghai.com/

1. Shanghai Airport (Group) Official Website (Pudong Airport duty-free shopping): https://www.shanghaiairport.com/pudongairport1019/index.html

1. Oriental Finance Pudong Weibo "Optimising inbound travel experience: Shanghai rolls out culture-tourism gift packs" (2026-08-24): https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5335478840594504

1. State Council Information Office press-conference transcript "Introducing the situation on intensifying optimisation of departure tax refund measures to expand inbound consumption" (2026-05-19): http://www.scio.gov.cn/live/2026/38563/qwxz/202605/P020260519383049876609.pdf

1. Baike "Notice on Intensifying Optimisation of Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption": https://m.baike.com/wiki/%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%8E%E5%8A%A0%E5%8A%9B%E4%BC%98%E5%8C%96%E7%A6%BB%E5%A2%83%E9%80%80%E7%A8%8E%E6%8E%AA%E6%96%BD%E6%89%A9%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A5%E5%A2%83%E6%B6%88%E8%B4%B9%E7%9A%84%E9%80%9A%E7%9F%A5/7641077162586488872

1. Into Travel China "Duty-Free Shopping in Shanghai: A Complete Guide to Airports, Stores & Best Deals": https://intotravelchina.com/en/articles/1777363573604718657.html

1. ChinaTravelPlus Official Website: https://chinatravelplus.com

SEO Description (150-160 chars): Shanghai Airport, CDFG & China Telecom's 'Shopping in China, In Shanghai': arrival check-in, bilingual guide, CNY850 SIM bonus, stamp & Year-of-the-Horse gift.

> Disclaimer: This blog is originally produced by the ChinaTravelPlus (CTP) Editorial Team; data sources are shown in the main text and the URL Matrix. This blog is the 60th issue of the CTP inbound tourism research series. Campaign information and execution details are subject to official releases by Shanghai Airport, CDFG and China Telecom; policy information is subject to official releases by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Immigration Administration, the General Administration of Customs and other authorities. The CTP Research Department has fulfilled reasonable prudent obligations but makes no express or implied guarantee of the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the data; if there is any data correction or supplement, please contact us via the emails at the end of this blog.

Conclusion: When "Passenger-Flow Momentum" Meets "Consumption Momentum", Shanghai Opens a Full-Chain Inbound Consumption Experience

"Shanghai, In Shanghai" braids together the traffic of Shanghai Airport, the retail of CDFG and the connectivity of China Telecom into a single rope, and through the full chain of "arrival check-in → city walk → departure reward", answers the core question of inbound consumption promotion: once travellers arrive, how can every "arrival" become a consumption journey that is "worth participating in, worth sharing, and worth repeating"?

For CTP, the value of this campaign lies in the fact that Shanghai is upgrading the passenger-flow momentum of "China's first inbound tourism stop" into the consumption momentum of "China's first inbound consumption gateway" — the H1 2026 visa-free base of over 2.046 million person-times, the 201,000 vouchers / CNY1.92 billion of departure-tax-refund data, and the consumption network of 2,100+ tax-refund stores provide a steady conversion pool for CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products.

The story chain has travelled from Blog 51 (Shanghai Airport July international-route recovery / East China inbound gateway infrastructure) to this edition (#60, Shanghai inbound consumption campaign landing), and the loop of "infrastructure receiving → consumption conversion" is now formally closed. CTP's Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai multi-city products will, along the path of "Shanghai entry + city walk + Jiangsu-Zhejiang depth + departure reward", convert the consumption momentum of "Shopping in China, In Shanghai" into actual growth in the quality of the China Travel experience and inbound tourism.

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Terracotta Army: Only These Channels Sell Official Tickets

The Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum () has repeatedly warned that it never authorizes third-party platforms to sell tickets. To avoid overpaying or being turned away, book only through the museum's own channels: the official website bmy.com.cn, and the WeChat official accounts "" and "".

Source: official museum announcement, July 2026.

2026 Summer Opening Hours (July 11 – August 21)

• Extended hours — during the summer benefit period, the museum opens 60 minutes longer: ticket check 8:00–17:30, museum closes 19:30
• Higher capacity — daily maximum raised from 65,000 to 70,000 visitors to ease demand
• Outside this window — standard hours apply (roughly 8:30–18:30); always check the official account
• ID required — you must enter with your own ID card or passport; using someone else's is illegal and checked strictly on holidays

Ticket Prices and What They Include

• Adult ticket — 120 yuan, includes both the Terracotta Army pits and the Lishan Garden () with the Bronze Chariots gallery
• Student ticket — 60 yuan with a valid student ID
• Free entry — children under a certain height and qualifying seniors/concessions follow the national policy; reserve the right ticket type
• Time slots — tickets are sold for specific entry windows (e.g. 8:30–9:30); arrive in your slot

What to Expect at the Site

The museum sits about 40 km east of central Xi'an. Pit 1 is the famous army of thousands, Pits 2 and 3 add cavalry, archers and command structures, and the Bronze Chariots gallery at Lishan Garden displays the exquisite half-size bronze chariots. Allow 3–4 hours in total. Official guides and audio guides are available; the site is heavily crowded in summer, so go early and pre-book your slot.

Practical Tips for Foreign Visitors

• Book with your passport — the official app/accounts accept passport numbers for booking; bring the passport itself for entry
• Beware of touts — anyone outside the museum offering "fast tickets" or "VIP access" is not official; all tickets are the same 120 yuan through official channels
• Getting there — tourist bus from Xi'an railway station, or Metro Line 9 to Lintong plus a short taxi
• Combine with — Huaqing Palace is on the same route; Mount Hua is a separate day trip

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Sam designs custom itineraries for solo travelers, families and food lovers, delivering a complete plan within 48 hours.

Recommended China Travel Tours

• Canal Heritage Cultural Discovery — 7 Days / 6 Nights
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1.1 Overall Financial Performance: Revenue Approaching the RMB10 Billion Mark, Profit Growth Outpacing Revenue

On 24 August, Tongcheng Travel released its Q2 and H1 2026 results. In the first half, Tongcheng Travel generated revenue of RMB9.99 billion, up 10.5% year-on-year, approaching the RMB10 billion mark; adjusted net profit reached RMB1.79 billion, up 14.6%, with profit growth outpacing revenue growth; adjusted EBITDA reached RMB2.66 billion, up 13.5%, with the margin improving from 25.9% to 26.6%. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25; Source: Sina Finance · Consumer Finance, 2026-08-25

The structural change is worth noting: in Q2, single-quarter revenue growth slowed to 6.8% — the first time since 2023 that single-quarter revenue growth fell to single digits. Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, 2026-08-24; Source: Sina Finance · Consumer Finance This interim report, in which "revenue approaching RMB10 billion" coexists with "growth gear-shifting", presents a clear "new-old momentum handover": the old drivers (mass-market traffic growth, transportation ticketing) are slowing, while the new drivers (hotel management, inbound tourism, deepening user value) are taking over.

For the CTP Research Department, this is precisely why this blog chooses Tongcheng Travel's earnings as its entry point: a report showing a "new-old momentum handover" actually illuminates the growth curve of inbound tourism — the new momentum — with particular clarity. When the domestic tourism market is slowing, inbound tourism's +157% order growth becomes the brightest incremental narrative in the report.

1.2 The Three Business Lines: Transportation Under Pressure, Accommodation Steady, Other Business Leading

By segment, Tongcheng Travel's H1 revenue structure shows a clear "hot-cold split":

• Transportation ticketing revenue of RMB3.96 billion, +2.1%: Rising oil prices pushed up air-travel costs and fuel surcharges, making airfares expensive and dampening long-haul travel demand; transportation ticketing growth slowed markedly. Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, 2026-08-24; Source: Securities Daily
• Accommodation reservation revenue of RMB2.85 billion, +11.1%: Driven by higher average daily rate (ADR) and more room nights sold, the share of high-quality hotel room nights on the platform rose further, and international hotel daily room nights hit a new high. Source: Beijing Business Today, 2026-08-24; Source: Securities Daily
• Other revenue (including hotel management) of RMB1.99 billion, +46.3%: Growth far outpaced the core OTA business, making this the true growth engine of H1; in Q2 alone, this line reached RMB1.025 billion, up 35.7%. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25

"The hot-cold contrast between the two traditional main businesses is a microcosm of the current shift in tourism consumption structure — flights are getting more expensive while accommodation is getting better," Guandian wrote in its analysis. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance For the CTP Research Department, the steady growth of the accommodation segment (+11.1%) and the phrase "international hotel room nights hit a new high" directly echo the surge in inbound orders — inbound passenger growth is being converted into real accommodation bookings on OTA platforms.

1.3 The User Base: Volume Plateaus, but Value Deepens

User data is the most noteworthy part of this interim report:

• Annual paying users of 254 million and 2.04 billion cumulative service trips: For the twelve months ended 30 June 2026, annual paying users reached 253.9 million, up 0.9%; cumulative service trips over twelve months reached 2.04 billion, up 2.7%. Source: Securities Daily; Source: Guandian / Sina Finance; Source: Eastmoney Fortune, 2026-08-25
• Consumption frequency per user up 1.8% and annual ARPU up 10.3%: Both per-user consumption frequency and ARPU rose, signalling that Tongcheng is using "deepening user value" to offset "plateauing user numbers". Source: Securities Daily; Source: Guandian / Sina Finance
• H1 average monthly paying users (MPU) of 45.1 million, -3.0%; Q2 MPU of 43.7 million, -5.8%: The decline in monthly paying users reflects growth gear-shifting after the traffic dividend peaked. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance; Source: The Paper
• Over 87% of registered users come from non-tier-1 cities in China: The mass-tourism base is solid, and membership programmes and exclusive benefits continue to lift repeat purchase and loyalty among high-value users. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance; Source: Eastmoney Fortune

For the inbound-tourism industry, the combination of "average MPU -3.0%" and "ARPU +10.3%" is highly meaningful: domestic traffic has plateaued, which means OTAs must seek growth from "international traffic + high-value travellers" — HopeGoo's +102% consumers and +157% inbound orders are the natural result of this logic. When a platform enters the intensive-growth phase in its home market, the "external increment" market of inbound tourism becomes a battleground.

1.4 Industry Backdrop: The Contrast Between "Dual-Slowdown" Domestic Travel and Inbound Tourism

The macro backdrop for this earnings report is the "dual slowdown" in China's H1 2026 domestic tourism data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism: domestic residents made 3.463 billion trips in H1 2026, up 5.4%, and spent RMB3.21 trillion, up 2.0% — both indicators decelerating. Source: CCTV / Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2026-08-07; Source: Southern Metropolis Daily At the same time, rising fuel surcharges pushed up airfares, and frequent extreme weather during summer further dampened long-haul domestic travel demand.

It is against this backdrop that Tongcheng Travel's inbound business (HopeGoo orders +157%) forms a sharp growth contrast with the domestic market (+5.4% trips, +2.0% spending). When the "internal circulation" slows, "inbound tourism" as an external-demand increment is becoming the next high ground contested by OTAs and the entire culture-tourism value chain.

1.5 Company Expansion Backdrop: Completion of the Didi Chuxing Tender Offer (Context Only)

As part of Tongcheng Travel's multi-year vertical integration, on 21 August it completed its tender offer for Didi Chuxing through its wholly owned subsidiary eLong, Inc., with 88.74% acceptance, further completing the "large transportation → micro transportation" mobility puzzle — cited here only as company expansion background, not as an argument of this blog. Source: Sina Finance / Caiwen, 2026-08-21; Source: Shanghai Securities News · China Securities Network, 2026-06-30

2.1 The Hard Data: Paying Consumers +102%, Inbound Orders +157%

The core highlight of this blog comes from the international-travel-market statement in Tongcheng Travel's Q2 and H1 2026 results. Multiple mainstream media outlets cited the same set of figures in their coverage:

> "As China continues to expand its visa-free 'circle of friends' and optimise inbound-facilitation measures, inbound tourism has become an incremental market with considerable imagination. In Q2 2026, paying consumers on HopeGoo, Tongcheng Travel's international travel platform, grew 102% year-on-year, and inbound-tourism consumption order volume surged 157% year-on-year." Source: The Paper, 2026-08-24

This set of figures is fully consistent across Securities Daily, Beijing Business Today, Southern Metropolis Daily and Guandian/Sina Finance — a "hard number" verified through multiple independent sources. Source: Securities Daily, 2026-08-25; Source: Beijing Business Today, 2026-08-24; Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, 2026-08-24; Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25

The CTP Research Department defines "orders +157%" as "platform-grade hard evidence" because it satisfies three conditions at once:

1. Authoritative subject: HopeGoo is an international travel platform disclosed in Tongcheng Travel's official earnings report; the data comes from listed-company information disclosure channels rather than third-party estimates;

1. Traceable basis: "Paying consumers +102%" and "inbound-tourism consumption order volume +157%" come from the same paragraph of the same report and are cross-cited by multiple independent media;

1. Verifiable direction: The data is fully consistent with the direction of inbound-tourism policies and passenger flows documented in past CTP blog posts over the past year — policy-side easing came first, order-side explosion followed.

2.2 The Demand-Side Evidence Chain: Policy → Consumption → Platform Demand

Placing this blog within the CTP inbound-tourism series story chain, HopeGoo's 157% happens to be the "final link" of the evidence chain:

• Policy side (Blog 57, published 2026): The 240-hour transit visa-free expansion policy was released, and the visa-free "circle of friends" continued to expand, lowering the threshold for foreign travellers to visit China at the institutional level — this is the "trigger" of the demand surge;
• Consumption side (Blog 59, published 2026): In the first weekend after the 240-hour transit visa-free policy was implemented, inbound passenger flows at various ports visibly increased, and CTP documented this micro-evidence of "policy implementation equals immediate passenger-flow release" through port passenger-flow verification;
• Consumption side (Blog 60, published 2026): Shanghai launched an inbound city tourism joint marketing campaign, turning "arrival check-in, city walk, departure reward" into a full-chain consumption experience, verifying the consumption momentum of inbound travellers moving from "can they come" to "will they spend";
• Platform demand side (this edition, Blog 61, August 2026): Tongcheng HopeGoo provides hard data in official earnings — "inbound-tourism consumption order volume +157%, paying consumers +102%". When a leading OTA platform serving more than 2 billion trips a year records triple-digit order growth, the inbound-tourism demand surge is no longer a "trend judgement" but a "balance-sheet fact".

The complete closure of this evidence chain is precisely the theme of this blog — "an OTA platform verifies the inbound-tourism demand surge". For the CTP Research Department, every policy node and every set of port passenger-flow figures recorded in past blog posts is now corroborated in an OTA platform's order data.

2.3 Structural Features of the Demand Surge: From "Sightseeing" to "Deep Stays"

HopeGoo's 157% order growth is not simply "more people coming to China" — it carries multiple structural-upgrade signals. Combining the earnings disclosure with other public data, the CTP Research Department identifies three structural features:

Feature one: inbound summer cooling has become an independently scaled niche track. In the same period as the earnings report, data provided by Tongcheng Travel to Guancha showed that foreign tourists travelling to China for summer cooling has become a new highlight of the inbound market this summer, with the booking heat of flights from European cities such as Edinburgh and Madrid to Chinese summer-cooling destinations up more than 80% year-on-year; HopeGoo data showed that European inbound summer visitors stayed an average of more than 3 days in hotels, nearly one day above the overall inbound average; in core cool-climate destinations such as Lijiang, more than half of European visitors stayed 4 or more days. Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25 This means inbound tourism is upgrading from "check-in sightseeing" to "deep stays and summer living", with both ticket price and length of stay rising together.

Feature two: both international flights and accommodation grew strongly. The earnings report noted that international air-ticket revenue maintained strong growth momentum in Q2 and that international hotel room nights grew markedly. Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, 2026-08-24 The dual growth of international air tickets (the traffic entry point) and international hotels (the accommodation receiving layer) works in tandem with HopeGoo's order growth.

Feature three: destinations are moving down-market. Besides tier-1 cities, inbound flight passenger flows to Chengdu, Urumqi, Xi'an, Guiyang and Harbin all grew to varying degrees, indicating that the inbound-tourism dividend is spreading from gateway cities to emerging destinations. Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25 This is highly aligned with the destination structure that CTP has been cultivating across its four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan) — Yunnan's summer-cooling destinations, Hunan's landscapes, Guangdong's urban culture and Jiangsu-Zhejiang's water towns are all beneficiaries of the destination down-market trend.

2.4 Dual Significance for OTAs and the Industry: The "Hedging" of Soft Outbound and Surging Inbound

In interpreting the HopeGoo data, Guandian highlighted a key detail: in the same earnings report in which outbound group tours were weak, the high growth of inbound tourism formed a natural hedge. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25 The earnings report showed that the vacation business segment declined 3.8% in H1, mainly due to geopolitical uncertainty and high airfares suppressing outbound group-tour demand; meanwhile, inbound orders +157% provided the platform with a second engine to hedge against downward pressure.

The CTP Research Department believes this "hedging" structure has universal implications for the industry:

• For OTA platforms: When outbound tourism is suppressed by external factors, inbound tourism as "reverse-direction traffic" becomes a new growth pole; platforms use international platforms such as HopeGoo to receive overseas users' demand for visiting China, achieving rebalancing of the traffic structure;
• For ground service providers: Order-side explosion at OTAs means overseas travellers are being converted on a large scale into "domestic demand in China" through platforms, creating direct increments for travel agencies, ground operators, guides and hotels;
• For destinations: The down-market drift of inbound orders means destination marketing can no longer focus only on gateway cities, but must seize the order dividend brought by "policy openness + platform distribution".

2.5 Policy Evolution Backdrop: From "One-Way Openness" to "Two-Way Flow"

HopeGoo's +157% order explosion cannot be separated from China's sustained evolution of inbound policies over the past year or more. As policy-background context (without listing country categories), the CTP Research Department summarises the key nodes:

• Transit visa-free expansion: China has continuously optimised its transit visa-free policy, significantly expanding the scope of the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, under which eligible nationals holding ordinary passports and connecting tickets can stay visa-free for up to 240 hours (10 days) when transiting China to a third country/region — this is the policy node recorded in CTP Blog 57 and the "master trigger" of the inbound-demand surge;
• Unilateral visa-free expansion: China has implemented unilateral visa-free entry for nationals of multiple countries, significantly lowering the threshold for foreign tourists holding ordinary passports to visit China;
• Inbound-facilitation measures: A package of measures — including payment facilitation (card for large amounts, mobile payment for small amounts, cash as fallback), language services (multilingual signage, AI translation) and visa facilitation — forms the institutional foundation of "easier to arrive, smoother to spend".

This series of policy evolutions precisely explains two features of the HopeGoo order data: first, the visa-free "circle of friends" expansion brings "incremental travellers" rather than a reallocation of existing travellers — which is why paying consumers could grow 102% year-on-year; second, the inbound-facilitation measures solved the experience problem of "what to do after arrival" — which is why order volume (not just headcount) could grow 157% year-on-year. Every time the policy side opens another door, the platform side gains more orders. This is the transmission mechanism from "policy side to platform demand side". The reason the CTP Research Department has continued to track policy implementation effects since Blog 57 is precisely to verify whether this transmission mechanism truly happens — and this edition's HopeGoo data provides the most powerful affirmative answer.

3.1 "Other Revenue" +46.3%: The Third Growth Pillar

While HopeGoo surges on the demand side, Tongcheng Travel has also completed an important capability reserve on the supply side. In H1, "other revenue" including hotel management grew 46.3% year-on-year to RMB1.99 billion, far outpacing the core OTA business and becoming the third pillar alongside the "two wheels" of transportation ticketing and accommodation reservation. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25; Source: Beijing Business Today, 2026-08-24

3.2 Elong Hotel Technology + Wanda Hotels: 3,500+ in Operation, 2,000+ Under Preparation

The earnings report showed that, as of the end of Q2 2026, Elong Hotel Technology and Wanda Hotels & Resorts together had more than 3,500 hotels in operation, with more than 2,000 under preparation. Source: Beijing Business Today, 2026-08-24; Source: Sina Finance · Consumer Finance, 2026-08-25

Among these, the acquisition of Wanda Hotel Management was a key step in the supply-side layout: in April 2024, Tongcheng Travel announced the RMB2.479 billion acquisition of Wanda Hotel Management; the deal closed in October 2025, bringing in 204 operating and 376 to-be-opened upscale hotels. After being integrated into the Tongcheng system, Wanda Hotels achieved system connectivity and membership interoperability with Tongcheng, and new projects signed in Q1 2026 covered Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan. Source: Guandian / Sina Finance, 2026-08-25; Source: 10jqka Finance, 2026-04-18

For the inbound-tourism industry, the significance of this layout is: when inbound orders are exploding at 157% on the demand side, whoever has the accommodation-receiving capability on the supply side will capture the biggest order dividend. Through Elong Hotel Technology (a "water-drop-shaped" brand matrix covering upscale, upper-midscale, midscale and light-midscale segments) plus Wanda's upscale hotels (204 operating + 376 to-be-opened), Tongcheng has built a complete accommodation-receiving network from economy to upscale segments. Source: CPPCC News, 2026-04-23

3.3 The "Demand-Supply" Loop: The Supply-Side Logic of Inbound Accommodation Receiving

Reading HopeGoo's demand-side data together with the supply-side layout of hotel management, the CTP Research Department draws a clear conclusion: Tongcheng is building a "demand-supply" dual-wheel loop for inbound tourism —

| Dimension | Demand Side (HopeGoo) | Supply Side (Hotel Management)

|-----------|----------------------|--------------------------------

| H1 2026 performance | Inbound orders +157%, paying consumers +102% | Other revenue +46.3% to RMB1.99B

| Core capability | International traffic distribution, inbound order receiving | 3,500+ operating hotels, 2,000+ under preparation

| Upscale supply | International hotel daily room nights at new high | Wanda 204 operating + 376 to-be-opened upscale hotels

| Digitisation | DeepTrip AI itinerary planning | Elong Hotel Technology PMS, supply-chain digitisation

Inbound order growth ultimately lands on "where to stay". OTAs bring overseas travellers in, and the hotel-management business ensures "there is a place to stay, it is comfortable, and they stay longer" — the two together form the conversion chain of inbound tourism from "traffic" to "retention". For ground service providers in CTP's four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan), this logic applies equally: to receive the inbound increment, one must both grasp the distribution channels on the demand side and prepare accommodation and on-the-ground service resources on the supply side.

From the perspective of cross-verification, the growth of HopeGoo's inbound orders and the growth of Tongcheng's accommodation business show obvious co-movement: H1 accommodation revenue of RMB2.85 billion, +11.1%, driven by higher ADR and more room nights; Q2 international hotel daily room nights hit a new high; meanwhile, HopeGoo European summer visitors stayed an average of more than 3 days, nearly one day above the overall average, with more than half of European visitors in Lijiang staying 4+ days. Source: Beijing Business Today, 2026-08-24; Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25 The micro-behaviour of inbound travellers "staying longer and staying better" is the accommodation-side embodiment of triple-digit order growth — demand-side and supply-side data corroborate each other, further enhancing the credibility of this report's core figures.

Section 4. AI Technology: Digitising Inbound Tourism Services

If HopeGoo solves the "demand-side orders" problem of inbound tourism and hotel management solves the "supply-side accommodation" problem, then the AI technology layout solves the "service-side experience" problem. The earnings report and Tongcheng Travel's public information show that Tongcheng is systematically dismantling the three major pain points of inbound tourism — language, planning and experience — with AI.

4.1 DeepTrip: The AI Itinerary-Planning Agent with 10 Million+ Global Cumulative Visits

DeepTrip is Tongcheng Travel's AI smart travel-planning assistant and the front-desk entry point for digitised inbound services. According to the earnings report and media coverage, the upgraded DeepTrip has surpassed 10 million global cumulative visits, supports interaction in 17 languages, can generate multi-theme itineraries based on user preferences, allows one-click AI recalculation of optimal routes after edits, and can parse fuzzy flight requests and provide solutions within 5 seconds. Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, 2026-08-24; Source: China News Service Hainan, 2026-04-15

For the inbound-tourism industry, DeepTrip's value lies in solving the two pain points of "hard to find information" and "hard to plan itineraries" for foreign travellers — an overseas visitor only needs to state a need in their mother tongue, and the AI completes the one-stop loop from itinerary planning to flight, hotel and ticket booking, dramatically lowering the decision threshold for "visiting China on a self-guided tour". This is fully consistent with the CTP series' long-held judgement that "inbound tourism must lower decision costs".

4.2 "AI Face-to-Face Translation Screen" and "AI Guided Tour": Deployment in Scenic Spots and Counter Scenarios

At the sixth China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan) in April 2026, Tongcheng Travel launched several key products focused on inbound tourism and smart-culture-tourism scenarios:

• AI face-to-face translation screen: Adopting a dual-screen interaction design to avoid frequent device passing, with 0.5-second response speed, supporting more than 150 languages and 27 Chinese dialects. It can be applied in hotel front desks, scenic-area counters and exhibition consultation scenarios to solve cross-language communication difficulties; Source: China News Service Hainan, 2026-04-15
• AI guided tour: Built on the concept of "one phone, one scan, full-journey AI companionship", visitors need not download an app — scanning a code provides HD maps, real-time location navigation and multi-style voice commentary, along with interactive features such as AI travel photography and check-in stamp collecting. The product has been deployed in multiple well-known scenic areas including Yalong Bay Rainforest Cultural Tourism Zone in Hainan, Prince Gong's Mansion in Beijing, Elephant Trunk Hill in Guilin and Wuhou Shrine in Chengdu. Source: China News Service Hainan, 2026-04-15; Source: Hong Net, 2026-04-14

Notably, the four scenic areas where the AI guided tour has been deployed — Yalong Bay (rainforest ecology), Prince Gong's Mansion (royal garden), Elephant Trunk Hill (landscape) and Wuhou Shrine (humanities) — cover four core inbound-tourism scenario types: ecology, culture, landscape and humanities. This is highly isomorphic with the landscape-culture resource structure of CTP's four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan), and provides a standardised template reference of "AI tools + ground services" for CTP's ground service providers.

4.3 Among the First OTAs to Integrate with the WeChat AI Assistant: Digital Layout of Traffic Entry Points

In June 2026, after WeChat released its "Guidelines for Developers to Access the WeChat AI Ecosystem", Tongcheng Travel announced it would become one of the first online travel platforms (OTAs) to fully integrate with the WeChat AI agent ecosystem. In the future, users will be able to make travel requests through the WeChat AI agent via voice commands or text input, with AI completing itinerary planning and enabling comparison, decision-making and booking of travel products; Tongcheng's booking services for flights, train tickets, hotels, tickets and vacation products will be simultaneously integrated into the WeChat AI agent ecosystem. Source: Guangzhou Daily New Flower City, 2026-06-10

For inbound tourism, the significance of "being among the first OTAs to integrate with the WeChat AI assistant" is: WeChat is a national-level application ecosystem that foreign travellers use with high frequency after arriving in China. Once the AI assistant is connected, inbound travellers can complete the entire process from planning to booking within the most familiar super-app — equivalent to "front-loading" the OTA's inbound service capability to the source of traffic. The CTP Research Department judges that this "AI + super-app + OTA" tripartite linkage will be an important form of future digitised inbound-tourism services.

4.4 How AI Reconstructs the Inbound Service Chain: From "Point Tools" to "Full-Journey Companionship"

Looking at DeepTrip, the AI translation screen, the AI guided tour and the WeChat AI integration together, Tongcheng's AI layout already covers the full inbound service chain:

| Service Stage | AI Tool | Pain Point Solved

|---------------|---------|-------------------

| Pre-trip planning | DeepTrip agent | Hard to find information, cumbersome planning, language barriers

| On-arrival communication | AI face-to-face translation screen | Cross-language communication at hotel front desks and scenic counters

| On-site experience | AI guided tour | Route planning, multilingual commentary, interactive check-ins

| Booking conversion | WeChat AI agent integration | One-stop loop from planning to booking

As Tongcheng Travel stated at the expo, the company aims to upgrade from "tool-type services" to "a full-journey travel companion". For the inbound-tourism value chain, AI is transforming "serving inbound travellers" from a labour-intensive process into an "AI + human" hybrid model — this will significantly reduce the marginal receiving cost for ground operators, scenic areas and hotels, and amplify the service-receiving capacity that comes with inbound order growth. Source: China News Service Hainan, 2026-04-15

5.1 Industry Context: OTAs Are Collectively Racing into Inbound Tourism

Tongcheng is not the only OTA stepping up its inbound efforts. As an already-public industry fact: on 1 June 2026, Ctrip Group announced it would invest RMB15 billion in special funds over the next five years for the global promotion of Chinese culture and tourism, targeting the introduction of 200 million international visitors and aiming to make China the world's top inbound destination. Source: Guangming Daily, 2026-06-01; Source: Sina Finance · Yicai, 2026-06-01 (Cited here only as one-sentence industry context, not expanded as an argument of this blog)

When leading OTA platforms — whether Ctrip's billion-level marketing investment or Tongcheng's HopeGoo +157% order performance — are both betting on inbound tourism with real money, a clear industry signal has emerged: inbound tourism has moved from the "policy dividend" stage into the "platform commercialisation" stage, and OTAs are becoming the largest distribution hub for inbound demand.

5.2 The Three Logics Behind OTAs Racing into Inbound Tourism

The CTP Research Department believes that the collective OTA rush into inbound tourism is driven by the superimposition of three industrial logics:

1. Demand logic: Inbound demand has moved from "policy-driven" into the "order explosion" stage — Tongcheng HopeGoo's +157% is a balance-sheet fact, not a forecast;

1. Traffic logic: With the domestic traffic dividend plateauing (average MPU -3.0%), OTAs need to seek increments from "international traffic"; inbound tourism is a natural second growth curve;

1. Service logic: AI technology (DeepTrip, translation screen, AI guided tour) has dramatically lowered the marginal cost of serving inbound travellers, enabling OTAs to receive overseas travellers at scale.

From the competitive-landscape perspective, the OTA rush into inbound tourism is changing how industry resources are allocated: on the one hand, platforms compete for overseas traffic through "standard products" such as international flights, international hotels and cross-border payments; on the other hand, platforms build "full-chain" capabilities through hotel management (such as Tongcheng's acquisition of Wanda Hotels), AI tools and overseas marketing. This means the value of the inbound-tourism value chain is evolving from "single-channel distribution" towards the trinity of "demand distribution + supply integration + service digitisation". For ground service providers, understanding how OTAs play is understanding the direction of inbound order flow — wherever the platform directs orders, that is where ground receivers should allocate resources.

5.3 CTP's Four-Province Opportunity: The "Ground-Receiving Dividend" After the Platform Demand Surge

For the four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan) where CTP has long cultivated, the opportunities brought by the OTA order-side explosion are structural:

• Yunnan: Summer-cooling living and deep-stay travellers are growing significantly — HopeGoo data shows European summer visitors stayed an average of 3+ days and more than half of European visitors in Lijiang stayed 4+ days; Yunnan's snow mountains, old towns and lakes are the core receiving areas for "deep-stay" inbound tourism;
• Guangdong: Guangzhou and Shenzhen are inbound gateway hubs; HopeGoo order growth, combined with the Guangzhou "Ticket Link" voucher model (redemption rate close to 100%), validates the "port + consumption" conversion logic; Source: Securities Daily
• Hunan: Destinations such as Zhangjiajie are high-frequency choices for European travellers; inbound passenger flows and orders are growing in tandem, upgrading from "sightseeing" to "deep experiences";
• Jiangsu-Zhejiang: The Shanghai/Hangzhou gateway plus Suzhou-Hangzhou water-town combination receives business travellers and family travellers, and is the most mature market for "inbound consumption" conversion.

OTAs distribute overseas orders, and ultimately the "ground receivers" — ground operators, travel agencies, guides, hotels and scenic areas — must deliver the services. The CTP Research Department judges that the biggest beneficiaries of the OTA order-side explosion will be those ground service providers that coordinate with platforms and possess high-quality delivery capability — this is precisely where the value of CTP's four-province cultivation lies.

From the perspective of implementation paths, CTP recommends that practitioners in the four provinces receive this wave of "platform order dividends" in three steps: Step one, enter the pool — proactively connect with the inbound supply systems of HopeGoo, Ctrip International and other platforms, and list destination products in the OTAs' international order pools; Step two, build products — around the verified demand themes of "deep stays, summer living, landscape culture and water-town consumption", combine scattered resources into standardised products that can be booked and quoted (refer to the three flagship routes in this edition); Step three, upgrade experience — introduce AI translation and AI guided tour tools to lower service costs while strengthening personalised capabilities that OTAs cannot replace, such as on-the-ground commentary, cultural experiences and emergency services. After these three steps, ground receivers can genuinely convert the demand surge verified by OTAs into their own orders and revenue.

Section 6. CTP Flagship Route Design: Three "OTA Inbound Demand Surge" Receiving Routes

Combining this edition's demand-side surge signal (HopeGoo orders +157%) with CTP's deep cultivation of its four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan), the CTP Research Department has designed three flagship routes to receive the inbound order increment (each with origin-destination-theme, for global inbound operators and travel agencies to combine):

Route 1: Yunnan "Cool China" Summer-Living Route — Kunming Entry · Lijiang-Shangri-La Deep Stays

• Chinese name: "" (Cool China Northwest Yunnan Summer-Living Route)
• Origin: Kunming Changshui International Airport (European and US travellers connect via Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other hubs; Southeast Asian travellers fly direct)
• Destination: Kunming — Lijiang — Shangri-La (Dali optional)
• Theme: Highland summer cooling + Naxi Dongba culture + snow mountains and lakes + slow old-town living
• Receiving logic: HopeGoo data shows European summer visitors stayed an average of 3+ days in hotels, with more than half of European visitors in Lijiang staying 4+ days; this route is designed around "stay one more night, stay deeper", turning European summer-cooling travellers from "passing through" into "living in"; Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25
• Supporting services: multilingual AI guided-tour commentary, Naxi intangible-heritage handicraft experiences, snow-mountain-view hotels, full coverage of foreign-card payment.

Route 2: Guangdong "Gourmet Lingnan" Inbound Consumption Route — Guangzhou Entry · Pearl River Delta Urban Culture

• Chinese name: "" (Gourmet Lingnan Pearl River Delta Inbound Consumption Route)
• Origin: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (direct or connecting flights for Southeast Asian and Western travellers)
• Destination: Guangzhou — Foshan — Zhuhai (Shunde, Zhaoqing optional)
• Theme: Cantonese cuisine + intangible-heritage lion dance + Lingnan gardens + coastal leisure
• Receiving logic: Guangdong is an inbound gateway hub; the Guangzhou "Ticket Link" culture-tourism voucher campaign integrated by Tongcheng achieved a redemption rate close to 100%, validating the "flight + accommodation + consumption" conversion chain; this route converts the order traffic distributed by OTA platforms into an integrated "food, accommodation, transport, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment" urban consumption experience; Source: Securities Daily, 2026-08-25
• Supporting services: Cantonese restaurant reservations, intangible-heritage workshop experiences, bilingual city-walk guides, connectivity with departure-consumption facilitation.

Route 3: Hunan "World-Class Landscapes" Zhangjiajie Route — Changsha Entry · Wulingyuan-Tianmen World Heritage Peaks

• Chinese name: "" (World-Class Landscapes Western Hunan Zhangjiajie World Heritage Route)
• Origin: Changsha Huanghua International Airport (connecting via Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen hubs) and Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport (a port covered by the 240-hour transit visa-free policy)
• Destination: Changsha — Zhangjiajie (Wulingyuan, Tianmen Mountain, Grand Canyon) — Fenghuang Ancient Town (optional)
• Theme: World-class peak forest + Tujia folk culture + summer cooling + night-time performances
• Receiving logic: Zhangjiajie is a high-frequency landscape destination for European travellers; this summer both inbound passenger flows and orders grew in tandem, and the city has built a "card for large amounts, mobile scan for small amounts, cash as fallback" payment system plus a multilingual commentary system; this route connects with OTA international orders and highlights the dual label of "peak forest wonder + ethnic culture"; Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25
• Supporting services: multilingual guides, Tujia intangible-heritage live performances, canyon night tours, AI voice navigation.

Route 4: Jiangsu-Zhejiang "Misty Water Towns" Inbound Consumption Route — Hangzhou Entry · Suzhou-Hangzhou Gardens & Water Towns

• Chinese name: "" (Misty Water Towns Suzhou-Hangzhou Gardens & Water-Towns Route)
• Origin: Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Shanghai Pudong/Hongqiao International Airports (European and US business FIT travellers and families)
• Destination: Hangzhou — Suzhou (Wuzhen, Zhouzhuang water towns optional)
• Theme: Jiangnan gardens + canal culture + silk and tea + refined slow living
• Receiving logic: Jiangsu-Zhejiang receives the inbound-consumption momentum of the Shanghai gateway; the new high in HopeGoo international hotel room nights shows inbound accommodation bookings are continuing to scale; this route converts OTA orders into high-ticket, in-depth experiences of "gardens + water towns + tea tasting", matching the consumption preferences of European and US business-leisure travellers;
• Supporting services: night tours of gardens, silk workshop experiences, tea-ceremony courses, direct bookings with international hotels.

Flagship Route Summary

| Route | Chinese Name | Origin → Destination | Theme | Primary Source Markets

|-------|--------------|----------------------|-------|------------------------

| Route 1 | "" | Kunming → Lijiang/Shangri-La | Highland cooling + ethnic old towns | European/US summer travellers

| Route 2 | "" | Guangzhou/Shenzhen → Pearl River Delta | Cantonese cuisine + urban culture | Southeast Asian/Western consumers

| Route 3 | "" | Changsha/Zhangjiajie → Wulingyuan/Fenghuang | World-class peaks + ethnic culture | European landscape travellers

| Route 4 | "" | Hangzhou/Shanghai → Suzhou-Hangzhou | Jiangnan gardens + water-town living | European/US business-leisure travellers

The four routes cover CTP's four provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang, Hunan and Yunnan). Each follows the product logic of "OTA order distribution → high-quality ground delivery", converting the inbound demand surge verified by platforms such as HopeGoo into bookable, deliverable and repeatable flagship products. The CTP Research Department can further customise day-by-day itineraries and quotation templates on this basis.

7.1 Risk Alerts

HopeGoo's +157% orders is an impressive scorecard, but the CTP Research Department reminds the industry to view the following risks rationally:

1. Base effect and sustainability of high growth: The 157% growth is built on a relatively small base; as the base rises, a natural deceleration in growth is normal. The industry should focus on quality metrics beyond "order growth" — ticket price, length of stay and repeat-purchase rate;

1. Drag from the domestic slowdown: The dual slowdown in H1 domestic trips (+5.4%) and spending (+2.0%), compounded by rising fuel surcharges and extreme weather, may continue to suppress OTAs' overall performance, and whether inbound tourism can continue to hedge is uncertain; Source: CCTV / Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2026-08-07

1. Traffic plateau and acquisition costs: Average MPU -3.0% reflects the plateaued traffic dividend; OTA competition for the inbound increment may push up acquisition and subsidy costs, compressing profit margins;

1. International environment uncertainty: Geopolitics, visa policies and the pace of international route recovery may all affect the stability of inbound demand;

1. Supply-side integration risk: The hotel-management second curve relies on M&A integration (such as Wanda Hotels' closing in October 2025); integration outcomes, brand synergy and upscale hotel operation capability still need time to be proven.

7.2 Outlook: H2 2026 to 2027

Based on this edition's earnings data and industry trends, the CTP Research Department offers the following outlook for the inbound segment:

• OTAs will continue to intensify their inbound focus: With HopeGoo's +157% orders becoming an industry benchmark case, more OTAs will elevate inbound tourism to a strategic-level business, and investment in international platforms, AI tools and overseas marketing will continue to grow;
• The "demand-supply-service" three-end loop will become the main axis of competition: Capabilities across the demand end (international order distribution), the supply end (hotel management and other accommodation receiving) and the service end (AI + multilingual) are all indispensable; platforms will upgrade from "traffic competition" to "full-chain competition";
• Ground receivers will enjoy structural dividends: The OTA order-side explosion means overseas travellers are landing at scale; travel agencies, ground operators, guides and hotels with high-quality delivery capability will gain more order shares, and value distribution in the inbound value chain will further tilt towards the "service delivery end";
• AI will reshape the inbound service cost curve: The scaled application of DeepTrip, AI translation screens and AI guided tours will significantly lower the marginal cost of serving inbound travellers, allowing small-language and long-tail destinations to receive international travellers at low cost;
• CTP's four provinces will become core receiving zones for order landing: The structural advantages of Yunnan (summer living), Guangdong (port consumption), Hunan (world-class landscapes) and Jiangsu-Zhejiang (water-town consumption) will form strong synergy with OTAs' order distribution.

Section 8. FAQ: The Ten Questions Inbound-Tourism Practitioners Ask Most

Q1: Is the HopeGoo inbound order +157% figure credible?

A: Yes. The figure comes from Tongcheng Travel's official earnings report released on 24 August 2026 and is cross-cited by multiple independent media outlets including Securities Daily, Beijing Business Today, The Paper, Southern Metropolis Daily and Guandian/Sina Finance, with consistent wording — a hard figure verified by multiple sources. The official attribution is "China's continued expansion of the visa-free 'circle of friends' and optimisation of inbound-facilitation measures".

Q2: Why is this described as "an OTA platform verifying the inbound-tourism demand surge"?

A: Because this is the first time in the CTP inbound-tourism series that a leading OTA has provided hard order-side data in its official earnings. Blog 57 (240-hour transit visa-free policy), Blog 59 (port verification in the first weekend after the visa-free rollout) and Blog 60 (Shanghai inbound city tourism joint marketing) verified the policy side and the consumption side respectively; Blog 61 uses platform order data to complete the "platform demand side" link, closing the evidence chain.

Q3: Which source markets drove the +157% order growth?

A: The earnings report does not disclose a country-by-country breakdown, but combined with public data, European travellers are a major growth pole — HopeGoo data shows European inbound summer visitors stayed an average of 3+ days in hotels and more than half of European visitors in Lijiang stayed 4+ days; inbound flight passenger flows to Chengdu, Urumqi, Xi'an, Guiyang and Harbin all grew. For the specific country structure, please refer to the platform's official disclosures. Source: Guancha, 2026-08-25

Q4: What does this figure mean for travel agencies / ground operators?

A: It means overseas travellers are being converted on a large scale through OTA platforms into "domestic demand in China". After the order-side explosion, delivery inevitably falls on ground receivers — travel agencies, ground operators, guides, hotels and scenic areas. OTAs distribute orders and ground operators deliver services; ground operators with high-quality delivery capability will enjoy structural dividends.

Q5: What does Tongcheng's hotel-management business have to do with inbound tourism?

A: Hotel management is the supply-side receiving layer of inbound tourism. Elong Hotel Technology and Wanda Hotels & Resorts have 3,500+ operating hotels and 2,000+ under preparation; Wanda Hotel Management brought in 204 operating and 376 to-be-opened upscale hotels — when HopeGoo brings overseas travellers in on the demand side, the hotel network ensures "there is a place to stay, and it is comfortable", forming a "demand-supply" loop.

Q6: Are AI tools (DeepTrip, translation screens) really useful for inbound tourism?

A: Yes, and they are being deployed at scale. DeepTrip supports 17 languages with 10M+ global cumulative visits; the AI face-to-face translation screen responds in 0.5 seconds and supports 150+ languages and 27 dialects; the AI guided tour has been deployed at Yalong Bay, Prince Gong's Mansion, Elephant Trunk Hill and Wuhou Shrine. AI is systematically lowering the marginal cost of serving inbound travellers.

Q7: Is OTA AI a threat or an opportunity for ground service providers?

A: More opportunity than threat. OTA AI tools solve "standardised services" (planning, translation, commentary), while "personalised experiences" (on-the-ground guides, cultural depth, emergency services) still require ground service providers. AI lowers the industry's overall receiving cost and amplifies the service-receiving capacity of inbound orders — ground providers should proactively adopt AI tools as efficiency levers.

Q8: Will the domestic slowdown affect inbound tourism?

A: The two are relatively independent. The dual slowdown in H1 domestic trips (+5.4%) and spending (+2.0%) reflects the maturity of the domestic stock market; inbound tourism is an "external demand" increment driven by visa-free policies, international routes and overseas travellers, following a different logic from the domestic market. HopeGoo's +157% orders were achieved precisely against the backdrop of the domestic slowdown.

Q9: What is the relationship between CTP's flagship routes and OTA platforms?

A: CTP flagship routes are "ground-delivery solutions after OTA order distribution". OTAs distribute overseas orders to destinations, while CTP routes provide "origin-destination-theme" product design, day-by-day itineraries, quotation templates and ground-service SOPs, helping travel agencies and ground operators convert platform orders into deliverable products.

Q10: As an inbound-tourism practitioner, what should I do now?

A: The CTP Research Department recommends three steps: ① Connect with platforms — establish order-distribution cooperation with international platforms such as HopeGoo and enter the OTAs' inbound supply pool; ② Prepare supply — lock in accommodation, transport, commentary and other ground-receiving resources to match the accommodation and experience needs of "deep-stay" travellers; ③ Leverage AI — introduce AI translation and AI guided tour tools to lower service costs while strengthening personalised on-the-ground services. For route design and resource connectivity, please contact CTP.

Section 9. CTA · Contact CTP

ChinaTravelPlus (CTP) has long cultivated inbound tourism in Yunnan, Guangdong, Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Hunan, providing global inbound operators, travel agencies and guides with a one-stop "policy + channel + product + equipment" service. Around the demand-side explosion opportunity brought by "Tongcheng HopeGoo inbound orders +157%", CTP can provide:

• Day-by-day itineraries and quotation templates for the CTP flagship routes (Yunnan "Cool China" summer-living route / Guangdong "Gourmet Lingnan" inbound consumption route / Hunan "World-Class Landscapes" Zhangjiajie route / Jiangsu-Zhejiang "Misty Water Towns" route);
• Channel connection and supply-pool admission plans for inbound order distribution on OTA platforms such as HopeGoo;
• Inventory of ground-receiving resources (hotels, transport, commentary) under the "inbound demand surge" scenario;
• Landing assessments of digital tools (AI translation screens, AI guided tours, DeepTrip) in ground-receiving scenarios;
• Policy tracking on visa-free and inbound-facilitation measures, data collaboration and joint content creation.

Sam · Sam@ChinaTravelPlus.com · WhatsApp: +86 150 9633 5677

Luppy · Luppy@ChinaTravelPlus.com

Official Website: https://chinatravelplus.com

Reply "HopeGoo-61-EN" to receive the bilingual PDF version of this blog + day-by-day itineraries of the CTP flagship routes + the OTA inbound-order receiving checklist. We look forward to joining hands with you to convert the inbound demand surge verified by OTA platforms into growth for CTP's four-province ground receiving and the quality of China's inbound tourism experience.

Appendix A: Core Data Quick Reference

| Item | Key Points

|------|-----------

| Reporting entity | Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (00780.HK)

| Report type | Q2 and H1 2026 results

| Release date | 24 August 2026

| H1 revenue | RMB9.99 billion, +10.5% YoY

| Adjusted net profit | RMB1.79 billion, +14.6% YoY

| Three business lines | Transport RMB3.96B (+2.1%) / Accommodation RMB2.85B (+11.1%) / Other RMB1.99B (+46.3%)

| HopeGoo paying consumers | Q2 +102% YoY

| HopeGoo inbound orders | Q2 +157% YoY

| Annual paying users | 254 million

| Cumulative service trips | 2.04 billion

| Average monthly paying users | 45.1 million (-3.0%)

| Operating hotels | Elong + Wanda 3,500+

| Hotels under preparation | 2,000+

| Wanda upscale hotels | 204 operating + 376 to-be-opened

| DeepTrip visits | 10M+ global cumulative

| AI translation screen | 0.5s response, 150+ languages, 27 dialects

| AI guided tour deployment | Yalong Bay / Prince Gong's / Guilin / Chengdu

| Government vouchers | Approx. RMB113 million cumulative

| Guangzhou redemption rate | "Ticket Link" close to 100%

| Suzhou vouchers | RMB30 million

| Policy background | 240-hour transit visa-free expansion (policy-name linkage, no country list)

| Report attribution | Visa-free expansion + inbound-facilitation measures

| Outbound comparison | Vacation revenue -3.8% YoY (soft outbound group tours)

| Hedging with inbound | Inbound orders +157% hedge soft outbound

| Industry context | Ctrip RMB15B over 5 years for inbound marketing (one sentence)

Appendix B: Glossary

• HopeGoo: Tongcheng Travel's international travel platform serving overseas users' travel booking to China and cross-border; this edition's core figures (paying consumers +102%, inbound orders +157%) come from this platform;
• OTA: Online Travel Agency, a platform providing bookings for flights, hotels, tickets and other travel products over the internet;
• Visa-free "circle of friends" expansion: the colloquial description of China's continued expansion of unilateral and transit visa-free policy scope (cited here as policy background, without listing countries);
• 240-hour transit visa-free: a policy under which eligible foreigners holding ordinary passports and connecting tickets can stay visa-free for up to 240 hours (10 days) in specified areas while transiting China to a third country/region (cited here only as a policy-name link);
• ARPU: Average Revenue Per User, reflecting the value contribution of a single user;
• Adjusted net profit / EBITDA: profitability metrics excluding one-off and non-operating items, used to measure core-business profitability;
• Elong Hotel Technology: the hotel-management technology platform incubated by Tongcheng Travel, covering a brand matrix from upscale to light-midscale segments;
• Wanda Hotels & Resorts: the hotel-management company integrated into the Tongcheng system in October 2025, with 204 operating and 376 to-be-opened upscale hotels;
• DeepTrip: Tongcheng Travel's AI smart travel-planning assistant supporting 17 languages, completing a one-stop loop from itinerary planning to booking;
• AI face-to-face translation screen: a cross-language communication device launched by Tongcheng Travel, with 0.5-second response and support for 150+ languages and 27 Chinese dialects;
• AI guided tour: a scenic-area smart tour service built on "one phone, one scan, full-journey AI companionship";
• Inbound demand side: the actual consumption demand of overseas travellers for travel products and services to China, corresponding to the "supply side (accommodation, ground receiving)" and the "service side (AI, language services)";
• Ground receiver: offline service entities such as travel agencies, ground operators, guides, hotels and scenic areas that deliver the fulfilment of OTA inbound orders, the direct beneficiaries of the "platform order dividend";
• Ticket Link: a culture-tourism voucher campaign co-organised by Guangzhou and Tongcheng Travel, in which travellers unlock discounts on hotels, scenic areas and bay-area lantern festivals with travel tickets, with a redemption rate close to 100%.

Appendix C: CTP Four-Province Receiving Map Quick Reference

| Front | Core Entry | Primary Source Markets | Flagship Route | This Edition's Selling Points

|-------|-----------|------------------------|-----------------|-------------------------------

| Yunnan | Kunming Changshui Airport | European/US summer-living travellers | Route 1 | 4+ days stays over half in Lijiang + summer living

| Guangdong | Guangzhou Baiyun / Shenzhen Bao'an | Southeast Asian/Western consumers | Route 2 | Gateway hub + voucher redemption close to 100%

| Hunan | Changsha Huanghua / Zhangjiajie Hehua | European landscape travellers | Route 3 | World-class peaks + multilingual service system

| Jiangsu-Zhejiang | Hangzhou Xiaoshan / Shanghai Pudong-Hongqiao | European/US business-leisure travellers | Route 4 | International hotel room nights at new high + water-town consumption

> Appendix note: the quick-reference tables and glossary above are meant to help practitioners get started quickly; financial data is subject to Tongcheng Travel's official results announcement, and policy execution details are subject to official releases by the National Immigration Administration and other authorities.

Section 11. URL Matrix (25 Official/Authoritative Sources)

1. Securities Daily "Tongcheng Travel H1 revenue RMB9.99 billion" (2026-08-25): http://m.epaper.zqrb.cn/html/2026-08/25/content_1267698.htm

1. Securities Daily Toutiao "Tongcheng Travel H1 revenue RMB9.99 billion" (2026-08-25): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7677649306744078900/

1. Beijing Business Today "Tongcheng Travel H1 2026 revenue RMB9.99 billion" (2026-08-24): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7677539476800881202/

1. TravelDaily "Online coupon issuance + offline linkage: Tongcheng Travel supports 2026 China Tourism Day voucher campaigns" (2026-05-19): https://m.traveldaily.cn:8443/article/189976

1. The Paper "Tongcheng Travel: Q2 adjusted net profit approx. RMB851 million, +9.8% YoY" (2026-08-24): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7677556542736024100/

1. Southern Metropolis Daily "Fuel surcharge rise curbs long-haul travel; Tongcheng Travel transport revenue falls for first time in three years" (2026-08-24): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7677551605759214123/

1. Guandian / Sina Finance "Interim Report Watch: H1 revenue grows to RMB10 billion; Tongcheng Travel builds a second curve with hotel management and inbound tourism" (2026-08-25): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7677639616089866786/

1. Sina Finance (Guandian full text) "Interim Report Watch" (2026-08-25): https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/estate/integration/2026-08-25/doc-inipmxcn2715613.shtml

1. Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited Results Announcement (English PDF, 2026-08-24): https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0824/2026082400456.pdf

1. Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited Results Announcement (Chinese PDF, 2026-08-24): https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0824/2026082400457_c.pdf

1. Sina Finance · Consumer Finance "Tongcheng Travel revenue surpasses RMB10 billion: is Ma Heping's 'second curve' steady?" (2026-08-25): https://t.cj.sina.cn/articles/view/9175017819/222dfa95b00101f72c

1. Eastmoney Fortune "Tongcheng Travel (00780.HK) H1 2026 revenue approx. RMB9.99 billion; actively embracing AI to improve operational efficiency" (2026-08-25): https://caifuhao.eastmoney.com/news/20260825164944395986990

1. 36Kr "Tongcheng Travel: H1 revenue RMB9.99 billion, +10.5% YoY" (2026-08-24): https://36kr.com/newsflashes/3953288052849798

1. Guancha (Observer) "Nowhere to escape the European heat, China's small cities 'catch the world'" (2026-08-25): https://cj.sina.com.cn/articles/view/1887344341/707e96d502001uhdy

1. China News Service Hainan "Tongcheng Travel debuts AI products at the expo, launches translation screens to support inbound tourism" (2026-04-15): http://www.hi.chinanews.com.cn/hnnew/2026-04-15/739246.html

1. Hong Net "New AI travel gadget! Tongcheng Travel launches 'AI face-to-face translation screen' and other innovations" (2026-04-14): http://m.toutiao.com/group/7628514806328312371/

1. Guangzhou Daily New Flower City "New WeChat AI ecosystem layout: Ctrip and Tongcheng to integrate first" (2026-06-10): https://huacheng.gz-cmc.com/pages/2026/06/09/ee16062e7ef8434a8ffb47fc9b161cec.html

1. CCTV / Ministry of Culture and Tourism "H1 domestic residents made 3.463 billion trips, spending RMB3.21 trillion" (2026-08-07): https://news.cctv.cn/2026/08/07/ARTITyGEBSIhWAuHsMhKgq9S260807.shtml

1. Guangming Daily "Ctrip announces RMB15 billion investment over 5 years to promote inbound tourism" (2026-06-01): http://travel.gmw.cn/2026-06/01/content_38805137.htm

1. Sina Finance · Yicai "Liang Jianzhang: to invest RMB15 billion in inbound tourism promotion over the next 5 years, introducing 200 million inbound visitors" (2026-06-01): https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-06-01/doc-inhzwisr8538284.shtml

1. Sina Finance / Caiwen "Didi Chuxing: Tongcheng Travel tender offer closed, 88.74% shares accepted" (2026-08-21): https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-08-21/doc-inipavkp1577012.shtml

1. Shanghai Securities News · China Securities Network "Major integration! Intraday surge of over 90%" (2026-06-30): http://www.cnstock.com/commonDetail/736274

1. Guangzhou Municipal Government Portal "Ticket Link · New Year in Guangzhou: 2026 Cantonese New Year festive season benefits online" (2026-02-25): https://www.gz.gov.cn/zfjg/gzswhgdlyj/mlgz/gzly/content/mpost_10696401.html

1. CPPCC News "Steady rise: Elong Hotel Technology ranks 7th in the 2026 China Hotel Group Scale List" (2026-04-23): http://www.rmzxw.com.cn/c/2026-04-23/3905794.shtml

1. ChinaTravelPlus Official Website: https://chinatravelplus.com

SEO Description (150-160 chars): Tongcheng Travel H1 2026: revenue RMB9.99B +10.5%; HopeGoo inbound orders +157% and consumers +102% in Q2 - OTA earnings verify inbound demand surge; hotel mgmt +46.3%.

> Disclaimer: This blog is originally produced by the ChinaTravelPlus (CTP) Editorial Team; data sources are shown in the main text and the URL Matrix. This blog is the 61st issue of the CTP inbound tourism research series. Financial and business data are subject to Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited's official results announcement and HKEX disclosures; HopeGoo-related data reflect the disclosure basis of Tongcheng Travel's official earnings; industry context (including OTA inbound strategies) is subject to each company's official releases. The CTP Research Department has fulfilled reasonable prudent obligations but makes no express or implied guarantee of the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the data; if there is any data correction or supplement, please contact us via the emails at the end of this blog.

Conclusion: When OTA Earnings Become the "Money Verifier" of Inbound Demand

From Blog 57's visa-free policy release, to Blog 59's port passenger-flow verification in the first weekend after the visa-free rollout, to Blog 60's Shanghai inbound city tourism joint marketing, the CTP inbound-tourism series has documented an evidence chain from the "policy side" to the "consumption side". In this edition, Blog 61, Tongcheng Travel HopeGoo's inbound orders +157% and paying consumers +102% add the hardest link to this evidence chain — the platform demand side.

OTA earnings data are essentially a "demand-side money verifier": whether policies were relaxed, whether travellers came, whether they were willing to spend, how many days they stayed, how many flights they took — all of this ultimately settles into the OTA's reports in the form of orders. When a leading platform like Tongcheng records triple-digit order growth, the inbound-demand surge is no longer a "trend judgement" but a "balance-sheet fact".

For CTP, the takeaway from this report is clear and practical: the policy dividend has already been converted into an order dividend, and OTAs are becoming the largest distribution hub for inbound demand; after orders land, what truly determines the traveller experience is the inn in Yunnan, the table in Guangdong, the peaks in Hunan and the water towns in Jiangsu-Zhejiang — the delivery capability of ground receivers in CTP's four provinces.

Looking back at the entire story chain: Blog 57 recorded the policy side "opening the door" (240-hour transit visa-free expansion), Blog 59 recorded the port side "people arriving" (passenger-flow verification in the first weekend after the visa-free rollout), Blog 60 recorded the consumption side "willing to spend" (Shanghai inbound city tourism joint marketing), and this edition, Blog 61, records the platform side "placing orders" (HopeGoo +157%) — policy side → port and consumption side → platform demand side: four blog posts link together to complete the full evidence chain of the inbound-demand explosion. This is both the value of the CTP Research Department's continuous tracking and an industry fact that all inbound-tourism practitioners can jointly verify.

Looking ahead to H2 2026, the CTP Research Department recommends that practitioners seize three certainties: first, the certainty of orders — triple-digit growth at OTAs shows overseas travellers are genuinely flooding in, so stop waiting on the sidelines; second, the certainty of receiving — lock in supply resources such as hotels, transport, commentary and on-the-ground experiences in advance, so that platform orders can be received well and delivered well; third, the certainty of experience — use AI tools to lower costs and cultural depth to add value, so that every traveller who comes to China through an OTA platform is willing to return and to recommend. Let us convert the inbound demand surge verified by OTA platforms into actual growth in the quality of the China Travel experience and inbound tourism.

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