2020 Asia Amusement and Attraction Expo draws more than 22,000 attendees

China’s first amusement and tourism trade show since the reopening of exhibition venues after the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown has seen more than 1000 exhibitors and 21,300 buyers attend the 2020 Asia Amusement and Attraction at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in the city of Guangzhou.

Held from 3rd to 5th August, the Expo occupied 60,000 metre² of trade show floor with exhibitors looking to make the most of opportunities to display their products and services as Asian countries reopen their economies.

Including both outdoor and indoor amusement and tourism options, Asia Amusement and Attraction Expo (AAA) 2020 featured amusement rides, arcade games, children’s indoor play centres; VR/AR games, vending machines and self-service kiosks along with attraction design, construction and management, water parks equipment, inflatables & water features, landscaping, hotels, resorts and building materials.

Exhibitors represented leading brands including leading players like, Kompan (Denmark), Entre-prises (France), Delta Strike (New Zealand), RÖDER Architecture (Germany), NITTO FUN, Funlandia, Keatoo, GOOEST, Kim Mung Hung, MACROWN, Edle Technology, Lepai, Daxin and Dalang.

Debut of Culture and Tourism Pavilion 
Supported by China Tourist Attractions Association (CTAA), the Culture and Tourism Pavilion, a new addition to AAA, attracted not only the most visitors, but also the presence of industry leaders including OCT Group, world’s third biggest theme park operator by visitor attendance; APES, Asia’s leading one-stop attraction planner with world-class experts from Disney, Universal and Resorts World Sentosa and Licheng Group, a Chinese leading attractions operator and real estate developer.

Increased Focus on Delivering Safe Experiences
As attractions, amusement parks, water parks, play centres and SECs (social entertainment centres)  were reopening across China, AAA 2020 kept pace with operators were planning to introduce to their sites self-service kiosks, better sanitisation equipment, visitors reservation systems and contactless game solutions in their venues to assure a safe and happy visiting experience for their customers.

New Products and Entrants  
AAA welcomed new entrants to the industry as well as new products developed by exhibitors during the lockdown.

With rising interest in winter themed recreation, Sanzhen Refrigeration, originally an air conditioner exporter, launched their snow machines at AAA.

A company statement advised “the pandemic has taken its toll on our air conditioner business, but luckily the amusement market has given us some relief. As a freshman in this industry, we have made many new friends at the show”

Matchmaking and Introductions
Attracting buyers from India, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, UAE, Malta, Pakistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, AAA’s news Online Matchmaking Program, set out to connect global buyers and suppliers amid the ongoing pandemic.

Participating exhibitors like Wahlap, Arccer Amusement, Unique Animation, MECPOWER, Liben Group, Domerry, Longcheng Electronic, Caiyun Inflatable, Elephant Sculpture and Jains Railway welcomed the program

85 Experts Advisors Contributed to Attracting Professional Buyers
To engage industry experts, AAA 2020 established its first advisory panel, with input from leading companies including Polin Waterparks, SUNAC, Guangzhou Panyu Animation & Game Association, Golden Dragon, UNIS, Kaiqi Group and Juma.

As a result, AAA successfully attracted many quality buyers like Walt Disney Imagineering, Chimelong Group, Alpha Group, China Tourism Group, Sunriver, Orient Landscape, Evergrande, Vanke, Poly Group, Jinmao and Logan Group.

2020 World Culture and Tourism Conference (WCTC) 
AAA also featured the World Culture and Tourism Conference at which the importance of tourism digitalisation emerged as a key trend. WCTC 2020 invited 30 opinion formers from leading trade associations, enterprises, and state agencies to shed light on the digitalised management and operation of tourist attractions. 

Leading debate, Chen Meiyan, Vice President of Joyu Group (pictured), explained “before COVID-19, tourism accounted for 11% of China’s GDP. Due to its excessive dependence on off-line scenarios, tourism has become one of the hardest-hit sectors.

“To help the industry build more resilience, a new educational technology platform to help foster talents in tourism digitalisation is needed.”

Looking Forward
Commending the event, Igor Rodionov, Vice-President of the Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (RAAPA), stated that the organiser was “doing a great job” holding AAA 2020 in this special period, which would certainly “enable the revive of the amusement industry”.

The organisers will present AAA 2021 from 10th to 12th May next year at the same venue.

In addition, the 2020 Zhongshan International Games and Amusement Fair and the 2020 Zhongshan International Culture and Tourism Industry Expo will be held at the Zhongshan Convention Centre from 28th to 30th November 2020.

Click here for details of these and other attractions sector events in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.