During this year's May Day holiday, inbound tourism continued to gain momentum, with a growing number of international visitors experiencing the diverse charm of China.

Trip.com Group data shows that, Shenzhen ranked fourth among China's most popular inbound tourism destinations during the May Day holiday. Major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen remained the top choices for international visitors.

During the holiday, major scenic spots and commercial areas across Shenzhen further integrated technological elements into cultural and tourism experiences, bringing innovation-driven scenarios into holiday destinations and offering residents and visitors a distinctive festive experience. Visitor numbers reached new highs, with ticket bookings for scenic spots across the city increasing by 110% year on year.

In the Huaqiangbei Commercial District, three new trendy entertainment landmarks were launched during the holiday: the Locator IP Town, DS New Wonderland and PW Warehouse, attracting large numbers of residents and tourists for shopping and taking photos.

Data show that during the May Day holiday, Huaqiangbei Electronics Street received an average daily footfall of 850,000 visits, with visitors staying for more than three hours on average. Among them, the average daily number of foreign visitors reached 8,000, while the number of tourists increased by 25% year on year. Sales of product categories related to the phase 2 of the "AI Eight Steeds" hot sales list grew by more than 50%.

Huang Maofan, a staff member at the D.Phone AI Experience Store, said that the most popular product during the May Day holiday was the D.Phone AI mobile surveillance robot. As one of the representative products in the phase 2 of "AI Eight Steeds", the robot saw a 300% increase in orders compared with the previous period.

The new Shenzhen Science Park was opened to the public for free during the May Day holiday. On its first day, visitor numbers exceeded 40,000. Technology experiences such as VR, robotic arms and autonomous vehicles attracted more than 4,000 visits per day. AI-powered autonomous ice cream machines sold more than 600 servings per day, while HarmonyOS-based autonomous patrol vehicles provided services to more than 1,000 visitors.

Shenzhen's first robot restaurant experience store opened on the fourth floor of the Robot 6S Store in Longgang District. More than 10 types of robots were put into service, handling tasks such as greeting guests, stir-frying dishes and preparing beverages. The novel experience quickly made the restaurant a popular destination to discover during the May Day holiday.

According to the store, an online reservation system was adopted, and all reservation slots were fully booked throughout the holiday. Zhou Deli, deputy store manager of Future Era Robot 6S Store, said that the restaurant received about 80 table reservations per day and was nearly fully booked every day. During the May Day holiday, foot traffic on the first floor increased by at least two to three times compared with last year's National Day holiday.

Shenzhen Ports Set New Single-Day Records

Inbound Tourism Continues to Rise

During the May Day holiday, several ports in Shenzhen set new single-day records for passenger flows.

Liantang Port inspected more than 400,000 inbound and outbound passengers during the holiday, with the number of foreign travelers increasing by more than 12% year on year.

As of 8:00 a.m. on May 5, Luohu Border Inspection Station had cleared more than 970,000 inbound and outbound passengers during the holiday. The single-day peak occurred on May 2, when passenger flows exceeded 270,000.

The West Kowloon Station Port of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link cleared more than 650,000 inbound and outbound passengers during the May Day holiday, representing a year-on-year increase of 30%.

According to the Shenzhen General Station of Immigration Inspection, several ports in Shenzhen set new records for clearance data during the May Day holiday. On May 2, Huanggang Border Inspection Station inspected more than 337,000 inbound and outbound passengers, setting a new historical high. Futian Port inspected more than 268,000 inbound and outbound passengers, the highest level since the port opened.

Shenzhen's rail transit system also allowed domestic and international visitors to experience the city’s convenience and livability.

During this year's May Day holiday, Shenzhen Metro passenger flows continued to rise and repeatedly reached record levels. From April 30 to May 2, the city's urban rail transit network recorded more than 11 million passenger trips for three consecutive days for the first time in history.

During the May Day holiday, Gangxia North Station recorded a peak single-day passenger volume of 489,000, about 60,000 more than on an ordinary working day. Many visitors specifically came to check in at the popular landmark known as the "Eye of Shenzhen."