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| - False: Viral image about international passenger traffic in Shanghai is widely inaccurate
An image posted on X on March 3 claimed the total number of tourists who arrived in Shanghai airports in the first two months of 2024 was extremely low, standing at a mere 10,000.
It also said the city recorded 3.7 million inbound travelers in 2019 as a comparison. The X user further claimed that 80% of visitors to the city in January were residents of Hong Kong and Macao.
A well-known Hong Kong businessman, Lew Mon-hung, reposted the image on his personal Facebook page, which has 35,000 followers.
However, Annie Lab found the passenger statistics to be totally false.
Data from the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics shows that the total number of international arrivals in the city in January 2024 alone stood at 358,300. This figure includes 255,100 foreigners, 34,800 Hong Kong and Macao residents, and 68,400 Taiwan residents.
As of this writing, the figure for February 2024 has not yet been published. The official data also indicates that in January 2024, Hong Kong and Macao residents made up only 9.7% of the total visitors, much lower than the 80% the post claimed.
Furthermore, we found the claim about the number of passenger arrivals in 2019 to be largely inaccurate as well.
Official data from the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics shows that the total number of international passengers in January and February 2019 was a little more than one million, standing at 1,161,200, while the total number of overseas tourists for the whole year was close to 9 million (8,972,300, to be exact).
Neither figure is even remotely close to 3.7 million, as claimed in the X post.
The misleading claim was made after the authorities announced the policy to exempt travel visas for up to 30 days for people visiting Shanghai.
The travel visa exemption, however, only applies to those visiting the Shanghai Business Cooperation Zone.
According to news reports, the new rule aims to “foster international commerce” rather than tourism. It is poised to start in 2028 under “closed management,” which means visitors are allowed to stay only in the designated business zone in the city in order to carry out related trade activities.
According to the People’s Daily, foreign visitors can leave Shanghai to visit other parts of the country under this new system by applying for port visas at the business cooperation zone when it is in full operation in 2030.
As of Feb. 2 this year, China has a mutual visa-free policy with 23 countries, including Singapore and Thailand, according to the state-owned People’s Daily. The country also recently announced that it allows citizens from six European countries to enter the country visa-free.
The Paper from China also debunked the same claim on March 7.
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