Guangdong publishes sweeping measures to boost consumption

Guangdong province will issue 100 million yuan ($14.29 million) worth of cultural and tourism consumption vouchers to boost consumption confidence in 2023.

According to the Measures to Further Boost and Expand Consumption in Guangdong province, the economic powerhouse will also provide more than 1 million discounted tickets to major scenic areas, distribute 1 million discounted air tickets and 10,000 discounted hotel rooms, organize 1,000 cultural performances in major scenic spots to attract tourists and boost consumption.

Relevant departments will also organize more than 100 major cultural and tourism festivals and events with typical Lingnan (South China) characteristics to attract tourists, said the measures, which were recently published by the provincial government.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the province's top cities, have been proposed to further increase their quota for car license plates and government subsidies to encourage residents to buy hybrid and new energy vehicles in the following months.

Currently, the pair require residents to get a license plate via lottery or public auctions before buying a car to help curb carbon emissions.

To stabilize housing consumption, the measures specify that, in 2023, more than 220,000 units (rooms) of affordable rental housing will be constructed and construction of more than 1,100 new urban and old community renovation projects will start in the coming year.

And to tap into the potential of rural consumption, the measures propose to deepen the construction of the agricultural product market system, build a comprehensive express logistics service network and vigorously develop the rural leisure tourism industry.

Relevant departments will promote the upgrading of the entire industrial chain of the rural leisure industry and create rural leisure industrial zones, and further intensify the construction and promotion of high-quality rural tourism routes to be able to receive more than 1.5 billion visitors this year, according the measures.

Meanwhile, the measures encourage enterprises and institutions with the ability to use new technologies, including big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, blockchains and AR/VR/MR to vigorously develop new forms and models of consumption.