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Many people reported
Shanghai has more foreign tourists

央视新闻报道称
最近有随着入境游旅客的增多 外语导游出现紧缺 部分小语种外语导游日薪甚至超过一千元

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#Europe grew by 12.8%

#Comprehensive mutual visa exemption is even more fierce

上海空港口岸进境外籍旅客正在大幅增长。来自上海海关的数字，今年一季度，上海海关累计监管进出境航空旅客782.9万人次，An increase of 3.5 times compared with the same period last year ，环比2023年第四季度增长23.8%。

具体来看，From January to March this year, Shanghai's inbound foreign tourists reached 1.185 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.9 times and a month-on-month increase of 6.6% ，占进出境旅客总数的15.1%。其中，来自泰国、新加坡等与中国实行全面互免签证国家的进境旅客数达64.9万人次，环比增长51.5％；来自法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙等中国单方面试行免签政策的欧洲国家进境旅客26.8万人次，环比增长12.8％。

Shanghai has the largest inbound and outbound airport port in the country. Shanghai Customs has accelerated the construction of smart customs, continued to release the dividends of "smart travel inspection", and strived to allow passengers to experience "senseless customs clearance." For example, Pudong Airport Customs has fully implemented the "pre-aircraft inspection" model-before passengers arrive at the baggage turntable, passengers 'checked baggage has already been simultaneously subject to customs supervision at the sorting office, and each piece of baggage usually takes less than 6 seconds to complete the inspection. As a result, the average customs clearance time for inbound passengers has been compressed to less than 30 minutes, and the entire customs clearance process is "free from queuing, free from moving boxes, and zero waiting."

#Foreign tourists want to "buy" in China

#Has the payment problem been resolved?

Since 2023, China's inbound tourism market has gradually picked up. At the same time, issues such as difficulty in consumer payments, inconvenience in foreign currency exchange, and cumbersome tax refunds for departure have once again attracted much attention, which has directly affected the travel experience of overseas tourists coming to China.

On March 29, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism held a press conference for the first quarter. Shi Zeyi, deputy director of the International Exchanges and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that the problem of payment difficulties for inbound tourists does exist. In the next step, the work of optimizing the inbound payment environment will be promoted with the support of the People's Bank of China.

前不久，国务院办公厅刚刚印发了《关于进一步优化支付服务提升支付便利性的意见》，提出了很多具体举措，The general principle is to "swipe the card in large amounts, scan the code in small amounts, and cover the bottom with cash"。
“大额刷卡，就是根据外国游客刷卡支付的习惯，在景区、酒店等消费场景布设POS机。目前， For example, five-star, four-star and even three-star hotels in Shanghai have been upgraded and renovated with POS machines; airports, attractions, and shopping venues in many places have also installed wild card POS machines. Beijing is also accelerating the upgrading of POS machines that swipe wild card. 小额扫码，实际上国内国外都有电子钱包等产品，实现互通在技术上也不难，目前的主要问题是外国游客绑定国内移动支付系统的程序比较复杂。”石泽毅说，文旅部正在跟平台方和企业方共同研究，解决技术、程序方面的问题，在保证财产安全的前提下尽量提高小额扫码的数额，同时实现现金兜底，在所有消费场所都要能使用人民币。
会上，文化和旅游部资源开发司副司长吴科锋透露，文化和旅游部下一步将着力提升重点旅游场所支付便利化水平，主要包括支付便利化和入园便利化两个方面。
在优化支付环境方面，文旅部将着力提升重点旅游场所支付便利化水平，推动国家5A级和4A级旅游景区、国家级和省级旅游度假区、国家级旅游休闲街区全部建立受理移动支付、银行卡、现金等所需的软硬件设施，推动线上线下支付更加便利，构建包容多元的支付环境。同时，文旅部将积极会同相关部门，推动在入境游客较多、消费场所比较密集的旅游度假区和国家级旅游休闲街区等配套布设外币兑换服务点，或推动周边银行网点提供外币现钞兑换服务，更好满足入境游客现金支付需求。
在推动入园便利化方面，文旅部将从线上和线下两个渠道同时发力，便利游客购票入园，全面提升游客的旅游体验。
在线下购票方面，将推动所有旅游景区保留人工窗口，为老年人和入境游客提供线下购票服务。在线上预约方面，将推动实施线上预约购票的旅游景区优化预约程序，推动重点旅游景区线上预约程序提供英文界面，需要实名预约的， Incorporate foreign passports, foreigners 'permanent residence ID cards, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents' travel to and from the mainland (mainland), etc. into the scope of recognized identity documents 。常年预约空余量较大的景区，不实行预约，尽可能减少游客个人信息采集。
吴科锋称，文旅部还将推动重点旅游场所完善多语种标识及导览设施，不断提高服务人员外语服务水平。在旅游旺季，通过延长开放时间，增加弹性供给等措施，提升文旅场所的接待能力。
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