On October 15th, the 136th Canton Fair commenced. To facilitate convenient and worry-free consumption for global exhibitors and merchants in Guangzhou, WeChat has introduced three inbound payment service counters at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the Canton Fair Complex, along with a new translation function on WeChat mini-programs. This allows global merchants to navigate the "Flower City" more smoothly with just one mobile application.
On the first day of the fair, the inbound consumption observation jointly released by the Tencent Research Institute and WeChat Pay revealed that mobile payments have fueled the heat of inbound consumption, driving growth in multiple industries. There has been a significant increase in inbound consumption in sectors such as scenic spots, tourism services, urban public transportation, hospitality, offline catering, and retail. According to WeChat Pay, in just the first 11 days of October, the number of consumption transactions by inbound tourists in Guangdong has doubled year-on-year.
Taking WeChat Pay as an example, since the comprehensive upgrade of foreign card services in July 2023, the transaction volume of inbound tourists at scenic spots in Guangdong through WeChat Pay has increased by more than six times; urban public transportation has seen a growth of over seven times. Notably, the number of people riding shared bicycles through WeChat Pay has grown by more than seven times on a daily average. The charm of Guangdong's cuisine has also captivated foreign visitors, with the number of catering consumption transactions by foreign cards on WeChat Pay increasing by more than five times.
Data from Meituan shows that in the week before the 136th Canton Fair, the search volume for "hotels near the Canton Fair" has risen by 83% year-on-year. Users from Guangzhou, Foshan, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Zhaoqing, Zhanjiang, Nanning, Xiamen, Dongguan, and Zhongshan are the most interested in searching for hotels around the Canton Fair. Among them, the search volume for the "Pazhou International Convention and Exhibition Center," the location of the Canton Fair, has tripled, and the search volume for nearby food has increased by 79% year-on-year.
DiDi's data indicates that from October 10th to 13th, the average daily order volume in Guangzhou increased by 16% year-on-year. Notably, the average daily order volume from inbound users has grown by 3.5 times, with foreign friends from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Thailand, and the Republic of Korea using DiDi the most in Guangzhou.
Furthermore, "new consumption features" such as Chinese coffee, tea drinks, and trendy toys have attracted many foreigners to try out fresh experiences. Xiaowen, a tourist from Malaysia, said that she would definitely try Luckin Coffee when in China. Pop Mart, which has been very popular in Malaysia, Thailand, and other places this year, has also attracted many foreign visitors to experience "trendy toy consumption" in stores.