Millions in discounts for consumers in Shanghai

A total of 500 million yuan (US$68.5 million) in vouchers will be allocated in the first half this year for Shanghai shoppers to take all kinds of leisure activities, with an aim to further boost the service sector.

Starting next month, 360 million yuan worth of vouchers for catering, 90 million yuan for tourism and sightseeing, 30 million yuan of movie vouchers, 20 million yuan for sports venues will be distributed till June.

Instead of the previous first come, first served format, foreigners and residents based in Shanghai can apply from February 22 to 24 and a lucky draw on February 26 will decide the winners.

Shanghai will step up consumption-driven efforts and hope the spending in service sectors to further enhance physical goods spending, said Shanghai Commerce Commission Director Zhu Min.

The city encourages further synergies between offline shopping spaces and the service sector such as entertainment, performance and exhibitions as well as sports venues, he told a press briefing on Monday.

Catering

A total of 864,000 catering coupons will fall into three types: 90 yuan reduction for 300 yuan spending, 180 yuan reduction for 500 yuan, and 400 yuan for 1000 yuan.

Customers can apply one time at each of the three payment sites, Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay and the vouchers will be valid for a month.

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Tourism

Apart from accommodation coupons, lots will be drawn for discount vouchers for tour packages, scenic spots' entrance tickets. Two types of coupons for online and offline spending will be distributed during the first half of the year in tune with major public holidays and peak travel periods.

Shanghai Culture and Tourism Bureau will also work with major online travel agencies to allow tourists to fully leverage the discount vouchers.

The application period for the first batch is between February 22 to 24 and will be valid from March 1.

Effective: 15 days upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: travelers from all over the country and around the globe, local residents

Sports

In addition to the city-level 20 million yuan budget, the sports bureau has set aside 40 million yuan for the discount coupons.

Six types of general vouchers and seven types of special vouchers for different sports activities such as swimming, badminton, tennis and ice and snow sports are to be available from March to June.

Each customer can claim no more than three coupons each week through the official WeChat mini program Laihudong Fitness Map.

Effective: 7 days upon receiving the coupon

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Movies

Total amount: 30 million yuan

Effective: 24 hours on receiving the coupon

Target customers: those who are based in Shanghai

Details: Each day on 10am and 4pm users can claim coupons on the official applications of online ticketing sites Taopiaopiao and Maoyan. 20 or 30 yuan discounts will be offered for the purchase of a single ticket while 40 or 60 yuan discounts are available for the purchase for combo tickets for two.

An addition of 15 million yuan of subsidies will be offered by Taopiaopiao and Maoyan. Special food deals will also be offered through lifestyle websites and food delivery platforms.