(Yicai) July 31 -- Shanghai saw the number of overseas visitors rise 28 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier, with South Korea, Russia, the United States, Thailand, and Malaysia as the main sources.

Shanghai welcomed 5.31 million inbound tourists in the six months ended June 30, according to data released by the city's Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism yesterday. The number of those who stayed at least one night jumped 31 percent to 5.02 million.

Arrivals from South Korea exceeded 515,000, while those from Russia surged 132 percent to 356,000. Long-haul markets in Europe and the US generally maintained a stable growth rate of over 30 percent, giving shape to a diversified international inbound tourism pattern.

Regarding local transportation, about 1.28 million foreign passport holders used public transport in Shanghai during the first half, up 32 percent from a year ago. In each month from January to June, the year-on-year passenger traffic growth exceeded 24 percent, indicating a significant increase in the frequency of urban travel among inbound tourists.

Among the 744,000 cruise passengers entering and leaving China in the first six months of the year, the number of foreign arrivals soared 38 percent to over 51,000 from a year earlier, with more than 81 percent of them taking advantage of various visa exemption policies. In addition, the number of inbound tourists served by travel agencies in Shanghai rose 20 percent to 155,300.

Shanghai's advantage as an international gateway and its status as the "first stop for inbound tourism in China" continued to be strengthened. The city saw the total number of tourists jump 18 percent to 313 million in the period.

Tourists' spending on everything related to cultural and tourism consumption in Shanghai climbed 8.8 percent to CNY543.3 billion (USD80.5 billion). The city held 18,513 commercial performances, generated box office revenue of CNY923 million (USD140 million), and provided inbound tourists with rich cultural experiences.

Editor: Martin Kadiev