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.

Source :Lingnan on the Cloud

全球客商如何一键“读懂”广州？

10月15日，第136届广交会开幕，为更好地让全球展客商在羊城广州便捷消费、放心消费，微信通过在广州白云国际机场、广交会展馆落地3个入境支付服务台和新上线的微信小程序翻译功能，让全球客商可用一个手机程序更“丝滑”地畅行花城。

在广交会首日，腾讯研究院联合微信支付发布的入境消费观察显示，移动支付助力入境消费热，带动多个行业增长。景区、旅游服务、城市公共交通、酒旅、线下餐饮、零售等行业的入境消费增幅明显。微信支付数据显示，仅10月的前11天，广东入境游客的消费笔数同比翻了一番。

以微信支付为例，自2023年7月外卡服务全面升级以来，在广东，入境游客通过微信支付的景区交易量增长超6倍；城市公共交通出行增长7倍多。其中，日均通过微信支付骑行共享单车的人次增长超7倍。广东美食的魅力更让老外流连忘返，微信支付外卡餐饮消费笔数提升超过5倍。

美团数据则显示，在第136届广交会前一周，“广交会附近酒店”搜索量同比上涨83%，广州、佛山、深圳、上海、肇庆、湛江、南宁、厦门、东莞、中山用户最爱搜索广交会周边酒店。其中，广交会所在地“广州琶洲国际会展中心”的搜索量上涨2倍，附近美食搜索量同比上涨79%。

而滴滴打车数据显示，10月10日至13日，用户在广州使用滴滴打车的日均订单量同比增加16%。其中，入境用户日均订单量同比增长了3.5倍，来自马来西亚、新加坡、美国、泰国、韩国等地的外国朋友在广州使用滴滴最多。

此外，中国咖啡、茶饮、潮玩等“新消费特色”吸引了不少老外的“尝鲜”。来自马来西亚的游客小雯表示，来华一定会体验瑞幸。而今年出海、在马来西亚、泰国等地十分火爆的泡泡玛特，也让许多来华游客到店体验“潮玩消费”。

文 | 记者 王丹阳 沈钊
翻译 | 史洋溢
英文审校 | 赵凡