Xiamen Stone Fair Sees Strong Recovery
XIAMEN, China – The China Xiamen International Stone Fair made a strong showing here last week, as foreign visitors returned in force after a four-year absence.
While the 23rd edition of the event on June 5-8 didn’t set an attendance record, it came remarkably close to its pre-pandemic showing, with 139,041 passing through the turnstiles and coming within 7.3% of its best level in 2019.
Chinese buyers continued to grow their support of the show, increasing their attendance by almost 25%.
Foreign attendance this year, meanwhile, only came to about half of the 2019 level of 29,446; the 174 non-China exhibitors showed a more than 70 percent drop from 2019. However, China’s ultra-strict regulations on foreign entry and reinstatement of multi-year visas (suspended during the pandemic) contributed to the smaller participation.
Pavilions from Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, Portugal and other countries returned to Xiamen for 2023. Foreign visitors came from 91 countries and regions to attend the exhibition, with the top five being India, Russia, South Korea, Vietnam and Malaysia.
In addition, more than 100 groups of global hosted buyers, industry associations, designers, institutions, colleges and other visiting delegations attended the event.
The 170,000 m² (1.8 million ft²) of show floor at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center featured 1,308 exhibitors.
The 2024 Xiamen Stone Fair will be on March 16-19 next year. For more information, go to https://www.stonefair.org.cn/.
