On September 3, the 2026 China Cultural and Tourism Industry Expo, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, officially opened in Tianjin. Themed "Deepening the Integration of Culture and Tourism, Smart Innovation for a Better Life," the expo spans a total exhibition area of 100,000 square meters and brings together 2,540 cultural and tourism enterprises from 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China, as well as 20 other countries and regions. Running for four days, this national-level platform integrates achievement showcases, industry exchanges, project matchmaking, and consumer experiences, providing a comprehensive display of the latest achievements and emerging trends in the integrated development of the cultural and tourism sector.
The expo is held at a critical juncture as the domestic cultural and tourism industry accelerates its recovery, transformation, and upgrading. Positioned as a national-level platform for the industry, the event not only serves as a centralized review of local achievements in cultural and tourism brand building but also acts as a vital hub for enterprises to expand markets and connect resources. In terms of scale, the 100,000-square-meter exhibition space offers a broad stage for showcasing new business models, new equipment, and new services in the cultural and tourism sector. The gathering of 2,540 enterprises from 30 domestic provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, along with 20 other countries and regions, fully demonstrates the expo's broad representativeness and strong industry appeal, highlighting the positive role of the cultural and tourism industry in promoting domestic and international exchanges and cooperation.
Regarding zone layout, the expo has meticulously planned ten thematic zones, including Culture and Tourism Integration, New Digital Business Models, Cultural and Tourism Equipment, International Cooperation, Tianjin Highlights, and Mass Consumption. This scientific zoning structure precisely corresponds to the main supply segments of the current cultural and tourism industry. The New Digital Business Models zone, closely aligned with the direction of technology-empowered content innovation, concentrates on showcasing the application of cutting-edge digital technologies in cultural and tourism scenarios. The International Cooperation zone is specifically dedicated to cross-border resource matchmaking, building a communication bridge for domestic and international cultural and tourism institutions. In addition, the Cultural and Tourism Equipment zone extends the focus to the upstream manufacturing segment of the industry chain. It encompasses both content-side integrated innovation and hardware manufacturing upgrades and iterations, playing a significant role in supporting platform functions for local brand showcases and enterprise market expansion.
To enhance the effectiveness and professionalism of the expo, 18 concurrent professional events were held, with in-depth topics covering core areas such as regional collaboration, industrial innovation, technology empowerment, and cultural and tourism consumption. In terms of deal matchmaking, the expo organized centralized B2B professional matchmaking sessions and innovatively launched an expo service mini-program, creating precise and efficient digital channels for matching supply and demand. Meanwhile, a comprehensive service desk was set up on-site to provide one-stop services such as consultation and guidance. These initiatives focus on practical project matchmaking and transaction conversion, effectively helping enterprises address pain points in cooperation and promoting the implementation of cultural and tourism projects.
While focusing on professional transactions, the expo also caters to public interactive experiences. The Mass Consumption zone is directly open to end consumers. Through a variety of interactive projects and public benefit activities, it deeply echoes the positioning of a "joyful festival for the people," effectively stimulating the vitality of the cultural and tourism consumption market. Notably, the prosperity expectations of the cultural and tourism industry have also been directly transmitted to the capital market. On September 4, boosted by positive news from the expo and expectations of industry recovery, the tourism and hotel sector rallied amid volatility in the secondary market. Among them, Huatian Hotel surged to the daily limit up, while shares of well-known cultural and tourism enterprises such as BTG Hotels, Guilin Tourism, Xiangyuan Cultural Tourism, Zhangjiajie, and Qujiang Cultural Tourism followed suit with gains. This market performance not only reflects capital's optimistic outlook on the future development prospects of the cultural and tourism industry but also confirms the strong role of the national-level expo in boosting industry confidence.