🎶 Kanye West just lit up Haikou! The American rapper rocked the Wuyuanhe Stadium in south China's Hainan Province on Sunday, kicking off the Mid-Autumn Festival with a bang. His epic performance not only thrilled fans but also gave a massive boost to the local holiday tourism economy.
This was Kanye's grand return to China since his 2008 concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, and Haikou was his only stop in China on his world tour. The \"world tour listening party\" drew nearly 40,000 fans, with 95% coming from outside the island. Fans flocked from Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Beijing, and even as far as Hong Kong, Macao, the island of Taiwan, and abroad! 🌍
Haikou pulled out all the stops for this event. The city rolled out over 100 discounts at hotels, scenic spots, restaurants, shopping malls, and retail stores to welcome the influx of visitors. Thanks to the concert, hotel occupancy rates soared to over 83% on the first day of the holiday, up a whopping 41.82% from last year! 🏨✨
The show is expected to generate about 373 million yuan (around $52.6 million) in total tourism revenue for Haikou. Talk about making it rain! 💸
Li Qi, a fan from Chengdu, arrived in Haikou a day early. \"I'm so excited to be here! Besides the concert, I'm planning to visit iconic attractions, enjoy local delicacies, and shop at the duty-free stores. I'm going to buy some duty-free goods for my family!\" she beamed. 🛍️🍜
Lyu Xiaolei, deputy mayor of Haikou, was thrilled about the impact. \"The show had a significant influence, bringing a large influx of tourists to Haikou,\" she said. \"These visitors are engaging in duty-free shopping and various cultural and tourism activities, which will greatly boost Haikou's holiday consumption.\" She added that the city aims to attract more international and domestic concerts to build itself into an international city of performing arts. 🎭🌆
Kanye's performance wasn't the only high-profile event during the holiday. Across China, concerts and music festivals featuring domestic and international stars drew massive crowds. The concert boom is not only entertaining fans but also energizing local economies. 🎤🚀
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
