EXPO 2010 and Its Impact on Tourism in Shanghai

Introduction

Special events have constituted one of the most exciting and fastest growing forms

of economic and tourism phenomena in many countries and destinations (Yang, Zeng, &

Gu, 2010). Mega-events, such as the World EXPOs, are one-time events that usually

generate long-term profound impacts, both positive and negative, on host communities

(Fredline, Jago, & Deery, 2003). This current event paper is going to critically evaluate

the EXPO 2010 which has been taking place since May 1st, 2010 till the end of October

2010 in Shanghai China. The paper will start with a brief background outlining some

main points of the EXPO 2010 then follow by the evaluation of its link to economics in

terms of China’s emerging neoliberal urbanism from the perspective of urban

redevelopment. The last section of the paper is going to outline some potential impacts of

EXPO 2010 on its host city, Shanghai.

Current Event Profile

With a long civilisation, China favours international exchange and loves world

peace. The EXPO 2010 is the first registered World Exposition in a developing country,

which gives expression to the expectations the world’s people place on China’s future

development (EXPO 2010 official website). For the country’s most dynamic, most

cosmopolitan and sassiest city, this is a time to celebrate, reported by Ramzy (2010) in

Time magazine, Shanghai is squarely in the international spotlight as the host of EXPO

2010, a World’s Fair that that kicked off April 30 with a massive fireworks display. On 2

sq. mi. (5 sq km) of former dockland just south of Shanghai's downtown, stand more than

100 pavilions. More than 430,000 visitors packed the EXPO grounds the first weekend,

and organizers expect at least 70 million total over six months. To spruce up for the
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event, Shanghai spent as much as $58 billion, according to official Chinese media. The

subway was massively expanded, the city's Hongqiao airport added a huge new terminal,

and workers spent three years overhauling the Bund, routing traffic underground and

widening its famous waterfront walkway (ChinaDaily, 2010). EXPO 2010 is a great

event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period

in urban evolution. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, EXPO 2010 is

attracting governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme "Better

City, Better Life." For its 184 days, participants will display urban civilisation to the full

extent, exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions

on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions

in the new century. They will learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the

sustainable development of human beings (EXPO 2010 official website).

EXPO and Development Economics

It is widely recognized that EXPO brings economic benefits; however, the event

hasn’t always been a financial success. No U.S. city has hosted since 1984 in New

Orleans, the only time an expo declared bankruptcy during its run, according to

Expomuseum. Development economics is one aspect of the EXPO 2010 overall theme of

“Better City, Better Life. Stevens (2008) indicates that the goal of economic development

is to create an economic environment where people enjoy long, healthy, and creative

lives. “Balancing economic development with harmonious relationship between urban

and rural areas is a global challenge facing both developed and developing countries in

this urbanized era”, Yu, director of the Executive Committee of EXPO 2010, said on the

5th EXPO theme forum. Wu and He (2009) emphasized that China’s urbanization is

undergoing profound neoliberal shifts, within which urban redevelopment has emerged in
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the forefront of neoliberalization. Neoliberalism is best understood as “a complex and

contested set of processes comprised of diverse policies, practices and discourses”

(Perreault & Martin 2005:194). According to Wu and He (2009), in the post-reform era,

the Shanghai municipal government has made every effort to promote rapid urban

redevelopment through state-subsidized property development. For the 2010 Shanghai

EXPO, in order to facilitate redevelopment projects along both sides of the Huangpu

River, a major waterway in Shanghai, the municipal government actively acted as a

sponsor and partner of private developers by offering supply-side subsidies and

favourable policies for land acquisition, demolition and relocation. Since the progress of

(re)development is directly related to local revenue, the city’s place in the urban

hierarchy, and the political and economic interests of government officers, the municipal

government is highly motivated to make space for market operations and neoliberal

programmes (Wu & He, 2009). The 5th Expo Theme Forum examined the impact of

economic transformation on urban‐rural relations. Focus has been addressed on balancing

economic transformation and sustainable development in the context of globalization.

Under the dual pressures of declining resources and the financial crisis, economic

transformation has become a common preoccupation for cities around the world (Maskin,

et al., 2010). The sharp increase in urban economic activities has put more pressure on

resources and the environment, which in turn impedes local development. It is crucial,

therefore, that urban planners change their traditional growth model and make sustainable

development a key objective. (Zhu, et al., 2010). From another point of view, the EXPO

itself does not always bring

EXPO’s Impacts on Tourism in Shanghai

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Up to the paper was written, the total visitor number to the EXPO is over 62 million

(EXPO 2010 official website). It is estimated that more than 70 million people from all

over the world will come to visit this biggest-ever World Expo. 70 million visitors

undoubtedly will bring a golden opportunity for the tourism of Shanghai, as well as

whole China. The hotel, aviation, retailing, catering and transportation will benefit from

the World Expo. There’s a research proved that 97% of the travel during World Expo is

based on the daily trip. The large increase of the travelers will lead to the drastic increase

of consumption as well as the upgrade of Shanghai tourism (China Business Focus).

Moreover, in January 2010, the “Year of World Expo Travel” was officially launched,

more than 50 travel routines connecting Shanghai and the other tourism spots in the

Yangtze River Delta were introduced to the world. In addition, the development of

tourism will function as a catalyst for the industrial structure by combing tourism and

agriculture (e.g. sightseeing agriculture), tourism and industry(e.g. visiting the plants and

experiencing the products) and will generate several kinds of new industries like sports

travel, culture travel and catering travel. (China Business Focus). EXPO also helps

accelerating the popularity of booking flight tickets, hotels and other travel-related

services online (China Daily). According to domestic research firm iResearch Consulting

Group, total online sales of flight tickets, hotel services and package travel products are

expected to reach 4.75 billion yuan ($709.91 million) this year, an increase of 27 percent

year-on-year. The figure is forecast to rise to 9 billion yuan by 2013. Furthermore, based

on Yang, Zeng, and Gu’s (2010) study on local residents’ perceptions of the impact of

2010 EXPO, “tourism infrastructure development” was one of the five dimensions of

positive impacts among these Shanghai residents.

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