It's less than a month before the opening of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, where the best of the city will be showcased for everyone to see. While we are all looking forward to the half-priced promotions, have you ever wondered which attractions across the city are most favored by residents and tourists? Well, recent research from big data analysis may provide you with some insight.
According to Shine, travel website Mafengwo recently collaborated with China Tourism Academy to conduct a survey around the city’s travel preferences. They looked into statistics such as users’ search history as well as booking records from the past year. By comparing and analyzing the data, they’ve derived which locations in Shanghai capture the most attention.
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The result revealed the top five locations are Tianzifang, the Bund, Chenghuang Miao, Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Street along with Yu Garden. These are closely followed by the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and Xintiandi.
When picking favorite destinations, family-friendliness and food are the main factors taken into consideration, as 'parent-child,' 'Disney' and 'Shanghai delicacy' are among the most-searched keywords.
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The boost in the city's tourism industry seems to be linked to the integrated tourism development in the Yangtze River Delta region. "As the ever-growing traffic system is making it more and more convenient to make visits to neighboring provinces," Feng Rao, one of the analysts, told Shine. "Nowadays, more and more people are willing to travel to other cities for leisure purposes."
Feng's point is proved by the survey results, as people from Hangzhou, Nanjing and Ningbo make up the major source of visitors to the city.
With attractions such as Peppa Pig World and Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park opening later this year, there is no doubt that Shanghai will draw more tourists in the foreseeable future.
[Cover image via Pexels]
