In the first half of this year, Guangzhou saw a remarkable revival in its exhibition sector as it hosted 140 key trade and economic expos across the city.

With a combined exhibition area of nearly 5.6 million square meters, these events attracted an astonishing 7.66 million visitors, marking an impressive surge of 2.3 times, 1.8 times, and 8.6 times compared to the figures from the previous year. The overall scale has now surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

A standout success was the 133rd Canton Fair, which made a triumphant return to offline mode after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The exhibition space expanded from 1.18 million to 1.5 million square meters, drawing over 2.9 million attendees, including 129,000 overseas buyers, who engaged in on-site transactions totaling a whopping 21.69 billion dollars. Notably, the fair accounted for 26.8% of the total exhibition area, 37.8% of the total attendees, and an impressive 56.6% of the overseas visitors in the first half of the year. This milestone signifies that Guangzhou's exhibition industry is now back on track to full recovery, significantly propelling the city's economic rebound, particularly in the realm of consumer spending.

Throughout the first half of the year, there were a total of seven exhibitions held in major specialized venues covering an area larger than 100,000 square meters, amounting to a combined exhibition space of 2.86 million square meters, constituting 52% of the city's total exhibition area.

The cumulative attendance at the Canton Fair, the China (Guangzhou) International Building Decoration Fair, and the China International Beauty Expo approached four million, accounting for more than 50% of the total visitors to exhibitions in the first half of the year. The world's largest international lighting fair experienced a staggering 147% growth compared to 2019, with the number of exhibitors skyrocketing from 2,000 to 3,300, reaching an all-time high.

Ranked first in Asia for thematic scale, the Guangzhou Design Week exhibited a remarkable growth of 38%, becoming the only event during the first half of the year held in three exhibition halls simultaneously. However, due to overwhelming demand, the China International Pet Show had to regretfully decline participation from nearly 300 companies, as the scale reached an unprecedented 80,000.

In the six months, Guangzhou hosted 108 specialized exhibitions in the productive service sector, representing 77% of all exhibitions. These events spanned 57 industries, including automobile and transportation, industrial equipment, furniture and home decor, healthcare and medical, electronics, and telecommunications.

Since the beginning of the year, Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau and the Guangzhou Commerce & Exhibition Promotion and Service Center have been actively attracting new exhibition projects. So far, they have brought in over 30 high-quality exhibitions, such as the China Surveying and Mapping Geographic Information and Technology Equipment Exhibition, High-end Medical Devices Exhibition, and CPHI China. This marks a new five-year high in terms of newly introduced exhibitions. Among these, 17 new exhibitions have taken place in the first half of the year, with three exhibition companies registering their presence in the city.

According to incomplete statistics, the exhibitions held in Guangzhou during the first six months attracted nearly 250,000 overseas visitors from 213 countries and regions. Notably, over 10,000 overseas buyers have pre-registered for the GTI Asia China Expo 2023.

参展人数超766万人次！广州展览业复苏势头强劲

今年上半年，广州全市重点场馆举办经贸类展览140场，展览面积近560万平方米，接待参展参观人数超过766万人次，同比去年分别增长2.3倍、1.8倍、8.6倍，整体规模已超2019年同期。

第133届广交会在疫情三年后首次全面恢复线下举办，展览面积从118万平方米扩大至150万平方米，参展观展人数超290万人次，线下参会境外采购商12.9万人，现场出口成交216.9亿美元，为全市上半年贡献了26.8%的展览面积、37.8%的参展观展人数、56.6%的境外客商，标志着广州会展业进入全面恢复轨道，有力带动全市经济特别是消费加速回暖。

上半年，重点专业展馆举办的10万平方米以上展览共7场，合计展览面积286万平方米，占上半年全市展览总面积的52%。

广交会、建博会、美博会参展参观人次合计近400万，占比超过上半年展会接待总量的50%。全球照明领域规模最大的国际照明展，规模与2019年比增长147%，参展商从去年的2000多家跃升至3300家，均创历史新高。

居亚洲同题材规模首位的广州设计周，展览规模增长38%，成为上半年唯一一个三馆齐开的展会。国际宠物水族展因参展需求太大、远超预期规模8万家，不得不婉拒近300家企业参展。

上半年广州举办的生产性服务业专业展会达108场，占比77%，题材涉及汽车交通、工业设备、家具家居、健康医疗、电子通讯等57个行业。

自年初以来，广州市商务局、广州市商务会展促进服务中心不断加大对新展项目的招引力度，目前已吸引了中国测绘地理信息技术装备展览会、国际高端医疗器械展、世界制药原料华南展、宠业创新展、预制菜展等30多个优质展会落户，创近5年新落户展会数量新高。其中，上半年已举办17场新办展，注册落户3家会展企业。

据不完全统计，上半年广州展会已接待来自213个国家和地区的境外客商近25万人次。游乐设备展预登记的境外客商就超过1万名。

文、图 | 羊城晚报全媒体记者 孙绮曼 通讯员 穗商务宣
翻译 | 刘佳慧