In an unprecedented move to attract as many buyers as possible to the mainland's biggest and oldest trade show, the organiser of the Canton Fair is offering free air tickets, discounted hotel rooms and even free meals to frequent buyers and those from Fortune 500 companies.
The latest strategy to boost attendance at the 105th Canton Fair, to open on April 15, follows an earlier and also unprecedented decision to offer discounts on stall rentals of between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan (HK$1,135-HK$2,270) per exhibitor.
The incentives to lure exhibitors and buyers would cost an estimated 100 million yuan, fair spokesman Mu Xinhai said, adding that at least 10 million yuan would be spent on overseas promotion.
Mr Mu said trading hours would be extended by an hour, with doors closing at 7pm.
Unheard of in the trade show's 52-year history, the special offers underscored the severity of the impact of the global downturn on Chinese exports, a Guangzhou-based economist said.
'They have never tried these kinds of measures before,' said Feng Bangyan, an economics professor at Guangzhou's Jinan University. 'I don't know how much effect the offers are going to have, but it's better than doing nothing. What the organiser is doing now shows they are really worried about the turnout and the eventual deals the Canton Fair will be able to generate this year.'