The performance market in China is developing vigorously

Recently, the 2025 China (Chengdu) Performance Trade Fair (referred to as "Performance Trade Fair"), with the theme of "Innovation · Cross-border · Integration", was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. This year's performance fair not only set a new record in terms of scale with 12,000 professional participants, 35,000 visitors and 8,000 square meters of exhibition area, but also demonstrated the strong development momentum of China's performance market with impressive figures such as 608 million yuan in signed contracts and over 1 billion yuan in cooperation intention deposits.

According to the data monitoring and calculation of the ticketing information collection platform of the China Association of Performing Arts, the total revenue of the national performance market in 2024 was 79.629 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 7.61%. Among them, the box office revenue from performances was 57.954 billion yuan, and other income was 21.675 billion yuan. In 2024, the national performance market will be led by high-quality products and driven by demand, showing an overall upward trend. Liu Kezhi, the president of the China Association of Performing Arts, said that the regional supply gap of high-quality performance products has continued to narrow, and the distribution of large-scale performances across the country has become more balanced. Meanwhile, collaborative innovation has given rise to more industrial linkages, and its role in promoting consumption has become more prominent. As the "condensation core", performances have become an effective medium for building a "community of urban life". New cooperation methods, new business models and new consumption Spaces have emerged around performance products, further highlighting the brand influence and economic value of high-quality performance projects.

"Cross-border collaboration" has become an important keyword in the performance market in the past two years. During this year's Performance Fair, to better promote cross-border cooperation, the organizers have specially invited local cultural and tourism authorities to introduce local cultural and tourism development support policies and performance-related investment promotion projects. They have also invited commercial complexes, tourist attractions (streets, parks), investment and financing institutions, etc. to release performance content demands, cooperation plans, procurement and investment plans, etc., to discover new forces for the industry.

At the exhibition hall site, scenes of theaters, commercial complexes, scenic area operators and financial investment institutions making joint connections could be seen everywhere. Two resource release conferences eventually led to the signing of 35 projects. Among them, in Sichuan Province alone, 18 projects have reached cooperation agreements, including the "Chengdu Art Center Performance Cluster Area" and the "Heatwave Flight Galaxy Left Bank Music Festival". In the future, the implementation of these performance projects will provide strong support for the upgrading of the local cultural and tourism industry. In addition, to promote the "ticket root economy", the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism also specifically mentioned the integrated development of performing arts and tourism in the policy introduction introduced at the meeting. It supports the audience to visit the Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum, Chengdu Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum and other scenic spots for free with their real names during the two days before and after the large-scale commercial performance activities with the performance tickets.

Under the impetus of this thinking, the consumption-driven effect of this year's performance fair far exceeded expectations. According to relevant statistics, after the performance fair ended, more than 30% of the attending guests chose to stay in Chengdu for a trip, with a stay time of more than three days. The participating guests "followed the performance and trade Fair to tour Sichuan" has driven about 69 million yuan in comprehensive consumption including catering, accommodation, tourism and shopping in Chengdu and other cities and prefectures.

Resource: 文旅中国