Shanghai's two airports witnessed over 1.18 million visits by inbound foreign travelers in the first quarter of this year, up 6.9 times year on year, according to Shanghai Customs.

With visitor numbers boosted by a visa-free travel agreement between China and countries such as Thailand and Singapore, Shanghai's two airports handled 649,000 visits by travelers from those countries in the first quarter, up 51.5 percent quarter on quarter.

Over the same period, 268,000 visits by inbound travelers from France, Germany, Italy and other European countries were made via Shanghai's two airports, up 12.8 percent quarter on quarter, thanks to a unilateral visa-free policy that China has implemented for these countries.