(Yicai) June 4 -- Shanghai's airports handled a record number of passengers in the January to May period of this year, driven by China’s expanded visa-free access policy and the city’s immediate departure tax refunds.

Passenger throughput at Shanghai's airports reached nearly 17 million in the five months ended May 31, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier, according to customs authority data.

About 54 percent of foreign visitors entered under the visa-waiver scheme, with most coming from South Korea, Japan, the United States, Australia, and Canada, according to the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Exit-Entry Frontier Inspection Station.

China has mutual visa-free agreements with 26 countries and unilateral visa waivers for 38 more, while the citizens of 54 nations can enjoy visa-free transit. 

Shanghai's new tax refund policy has been in place for over a month, adding more than 60 "instant refund" stores. According to the tax department, in that time sales of tax-refundable goods surged 86 percent from a year earlier, and the amount returned to shoppers jumped 77 percent.

In addition to that, the Shanghai government issued a document on May 21 explicitly calling for the east coat metropolis to become a world-renowned tourist city, building a world-class theme-park environment.

Shanghai Legoland Resort will open on July 5, with official estimates saying the theme park will see 2.4 million visitors this year. In addition, the city has a Disneyland Resort, while local tourism and hospitality firm Jinjiang International Holdings has allied with Warner Bros. Entertainment to open a Harry Potter Studio Tour in 2027.

Future consumption in Shanghai is not just about satisfying the local market, but also the international one, Zhang Yina, director of Fudan University's Shanghai consumer market Big Data lab, told Yicai. The internationalization and centralization of the city’s consumption are challenging, but Shanghai must continue to expand in that direction, Zhang added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev