With the acceleration of urbanization and the improvement of people's living standards, the night economy has become an important part of urban economic growth. The "2022 China City Night Economy Impact Report" was released on August 5 last year. The "Report" stated that the night economy has become an emerging space-time field for the transformation of Chinese urban functions, and a "golden key" to stimulate consumption and boost the economy. 

In the future, the development of the night economy will usher in a "new five years" full of opportunities. Third- and fourth-tier cities will become the main force in the growth of the night economy. Going to the countryside to "build clusters" and "enter the circle" is a new step in the development of the urban night economy. According to the trend, China’s world-class night economy opportunities are coming. To enable the night economy to flourish, it is necessary to play three distinctive trump cards: technology, culture, and brand.

 

Why is the “waterfront night economy” so charming?

The prosperity of the night-time economy has always been regarded as an important indicator to measure the economic vitality of a city and the happiness index of people's lives. At the same time, the night-time economy has great compatibility and diverse combinations, and waterfront cities are special with natural advantages and cultural heritage. The regional type has great potential in the night economy. 

At present, many waterfront cities have actively explored and mastered new waterfront night economy models, such as the "Jiangxinzhou" and "West Lake Musical Fountain" night tourism projects created by Nanjing and Hangzhou. It is noteworthy that the "One River, One River" theme of the 2023 Shanghai Nightlife Festival, Jiangyin's first Canal Beer Music Festival, and Kunshan Floating Night Market have created 20 unique theme trend activities, and launched community open-air film festivals, electronic music festivals, and beer festivals. Waiting, one after another, the waterfront commercial areas bloomed with unique and surging fireworks at night.

The "Waterfront Night Economy" has revitalized more than 100 shops in night neighborhoods, with brand exposure exceeding 200% and average consumption income more than doubling compared to before. What is even more worthy of analysis is that the "waterfront night economy" uses the commercial space owned by the organizer as a carrier, combines local culture and technological content to continuously create new consumption scenarios, introduce more high-end brands, and provide diverse nightlife experiences. More consumption prospects.

Lifting traditional restrictions, digital and intelligent technology helps expand the new water-based commercial and cultural space of "waterfront night economy"

Among the existing activities, there are fewer commercial activities on the water than on land. Most of them are light shows, fireworks shows, drone combination exhibitions and other performances, with a small number of cruise ship activities. In actual operations, traditional cruise ships are still unable to fulfill other commercial carrying capacities except transportation and sightseeing. Moreover, traditional cruise ships also have problems such as safety hazards and uneven driver service quality, which will directly affect consumers' expectations. Overall experience.

In addition to traditional projects, more and more people are focusing on more technological and attractive water entertainment products, and people's consumption expectations are constantly approaching emerging and technological projects.

The smart cruise ship “Xi” along the Jiangyin Canal

Five self-driving cruise ships "Xi" light up Jiangyin's "waterfront night economy"

On the evening of August 18, night fell quietly, but at this time, the banks of the Jiangyin Canal were shining and the neon lights on the pier were shining. The first 11-day Jiangyin Canal Beer and Music Festival opened grandly in Xicheng Canal Park. Xu Feng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Wuxi Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Jiangyin Municipal Party Committee, announced the opening of Jiangyin’s first Canal Beer Music Festival. Mayor Bao Ming delivered a speech. Municipal leaders Cheng Zheng, Wang Qi, Chen Hanjie, Hang Cheng, Qian Qing, Shi Ping, and Zhang Guiqing attended the event.

On the water of the canal, the self-driving cruise ship "Xi" of the Oka Smart Water Culture and Tourism Series was deployed in an array. Together with the on-site drone performance, they formed a beautiful night scene where technology and humanity are intertwined.

 

Music performances, cultural and creative markets, water performances, catering night markets, and other forms during the Beer Music Festival build a broad stage to promote local culture, display Jiangyin's image, and build bridges of friendship, further enriching citizens' spiritual and cultural life and polishing Jiangyin City business card.

"The scenery is surprising, the technological lighting is very beautiful, and the surrounding area is clean and tidy," said Bangui, a foreign tourist.

"I have lived in Jiangyin for 20 years, and I have never felt that Jiangyin has such a beautiful night view, and it is still on the canal." Ms. Sun, a Jiangyin citizen, told reporters while sitting on the self-driving cruise ship "Xi".

As the first Canal Beer and Music Festival in Jiangyin, after the innovative introduction of five "Xi" self-driving cruise ships equipped with L4 water surface autonomous driving technology by Oka Smart Ship, a variety of business scenarios have been derived and developed: romantic dinner on the water, high-end business reception, immersive technology interactive water sightseeing, etc.

The “Three Aces” for Future Water Business Models

The repetitiveness and singleness we mentioned in the previous article on the three major pain points of water cultural tourism are also the development drawbacks that the "waterfront night economy" will face, especially if it wants to include commerce, transportation, catering, tourism, and entertainment. Not easy. In the future, the "waterfront night economy" must not only "go further" but also "play better". In this context, only by laying out the three trump cards of "technological innovation + characteristic culture + excellent brand" can we provide opportunities for water-based business development. Constant motivation.

Technological innovation: Compared with traditional cruise ships, smart cruise ships provide more business service possibilities, including water sightseeing tours, water afternoon tea, water hotels, water cafes, water parlors, water hotels, and even personalized customized services. Water trips have become unique and interesting, making consumption more sticky.

 

Characteristic culture: Through the implantation of intelligent software, smart cruise ships can carry more unique regional cultures. Automatic attraction navigation, voice interactive introduction of attractions, and smart large screens allow tourists to experience a new cultural experience journey that combines technology and humanities.

Excellent brand: Brand attraction, service impression, and cultural following are all complementary to each other. When consumers choose projects, brand sensory experience and inspection are very important. At present, marketing customer acquisition costs are getting higher and higher, and traditional "casting a wide net" project marketing has lagged behind. Cross-border co-branding and mutual support of excellent brands can quickly achieve customer group integration based on local culture and can attract new consumers. The cost Lower, economic development capacity is significant.

As China's leading core system provider and industry enabler of surface unmanned driving technology, Foxtech Robot has accumulated more than 550,000 kilometers of unsupervised navigation in more than 100 waters in 10 countries around the world. It currently has the largest number of unsupervised voyages in the industry. It is a national high-tech enterprise with long mileage of autonomous water vehicles and the world's first sample collection of autonomous water vehicles.

With the development of the urban economy and technological level, smart cruise ships have become an important carrier of the "waterfront economy", which not only provides people with more possibilities for water entertainment activities, but also promotes the development of urban waterfront areas.

From "lighting" to "viewing" to the gradual development of "technology and culture", the "night economy" has become the general trend. Playing with the "waterfront night economy" will effectively promote the upgrading of the tourism industry and provide new opportunities for cross-border cooperation and development. Opportunities are the inherent requirements for expanding consumption and promoting high-quality economic development.