Hubei unleashes immersive scenario innovation to upgrade service consumption and boost domestic demand

Traditional consumption stimulus relying on simple discounts and promotions is being replaced by scenario-driven industrial upgrading in Hubei. The provincial government has clarified plans to expand new growth space for service consumption, covering health and wellness, cultural tourism, pan-entertainment and intelligent services. Local provincial state-owned enterprises are adopting targeted industrial strategies to reshape consumption scenarios and unlock incremental market potential amid the shift from policy-driven incentives to comprehensive scenario reform.

Hubei is revamping its cultural tourism value chain through immersive experience upgrades. Scenic spots across the province are integrating artificial intelligence and interactive technologies to transform static sightseeing into diversified experiential consumption. AI interactive photo stations deployed at major tourist attractions have attracted over 100,000 visitor participations. Multiple iconic scenic areas have launched immersive performances and interactive programmes, including fantasy-themed NPC interactions and naked-eye VR stage shows. Cultural and tourist resorts have created fantasy-themed immersive scenarios combining traditional culture, real-time interactive performances and aerial shows to enhance visitor engagement.

New boutique homestay clusters have been built to deliver aesthetic micro-vacation experiences, integrating diverse architectural styles with rural landscapes. The province has rolled out nature-themed outdoor vacation programmes and immersive script-based tours centred on traditional medicinal culture, enriching high-quality rural and cultural tourism consumption scenarios.

Transportation hubs across Hubei are being transformed into vital consumption gateways to extend the industrial consumption chain. Service areas along provincial highways showcase and sell more than 300 local specialty products through dedicated retail counters. Rural enrichment supermarkets at highway toll stations promote ecological agricultural goods via offline exhibition, online ordering and origin direct delivery models. The crayfish-themed consumption complex at Qianjiang Service Area has exceeded tens of millions of annual visitor throughput and been recognised as a national model for integrated highway tourism development. Preferential toll policies and tourism incentive campaigns further convert transient highway traffic into stable tourist consumption.

Railway, airport and port sectors are tapping new consumption momentum through innovative scenario creation. Urban commuter rail services operate with public transit frequency, while cultural-themed pop-up train activities have attracted more than 53,000 passenger trips within the launch month. Refitted heritage tourist trains and event-specific services connect sports events with travel consumption to convert passenger flow into sustained market activity.

Airport terminals have introduced featured catering festivals and self-operated beverage brands, launching integrated travel ticket packages in cooperation with hundreds of local merchants to activate ticket stub consumption. The provincial port sector has initiated a new water tourism programme, with the first batch of pure electric yachts scheduled for delivery by late August. The zero-emission, low-noise vessels support drone food delivery services, realising intelligent on-water consumption scenarios.

High-quality cultural IP development is driving holiday economic growth. Large-scale music carnivals hosted by local state-owned cultural platforms have drawn nearly 50,000 participants and accumulated over 3 billion online exposures, leveraging cultural influence to stimulate high-end consumption vitality.

Hubei is consolidating consumption upgrading foundations through traceable livelihood services and technological product innovation. State-owned agricultural platforms operate community canteens and boutique retail stores, building a traceable supply system for high-quality local agricultural products. The branded community retail network has expanded across urban neighbourhoods to improve the accessibility of premium farm produce within the 15-minute community living circles, maintaining high customer repurchase rates.

Agricultural product innovation empowers consumer market upgrading with health-oriented and scenario-customised offerings. Specialised seasonings tailored for catering scenarios and low-sodium healthy products have been promoted in public sports and consumption events. Provincial public grain brands have expanded authorised enterprise scale and enriched product lines with low-glycemic rice and rice-based desserts, driving industrial transformation from raw grain sales to branded finished product operations. High-quality rapeseed oil products have achieved robust market penetration in the Greater Bay Area through differentiated competitive advantages.

Specialised industrial investment institutions are nurturing technological innovation momentum for consumption upgrading. Strategic capital has backed eight local unicorn enterprises focusing on health technology and intelligent consumption, continuously injecting technological and financial vitality into the industrial transformation of the consumption sector.

The province is expanding blue ocean market space in elderly care services through systematic service network optimisation and quality upgrading. A multi-level elderly care service system covering comprehensive centres, institutional care, community services and home-based care has been established. The provincial elderly care service platform covers more than 40 districts and counties, integrating over 2,000 service providers and offering more than 2,000 service items, with accumulated service orders exceeding 1.2 million transactions.

Dedicated senior catering and health care services have been developed to drive elderly-oriented consumption growth. The province has issued the country’s first special-purpose bond for the elderly care industry to broaden financing channels and support industrial expansion. Integrated service models combining insurance coverage and elderly care services are being explored to extend the industrial chain from basic nursing to comprehensive financial and service integration.

High-end senior living communities have been launched across multiple cities in Hubei, providing all-round services including senior education, health management and social recreation. The integrated operation model combining wellness services and property development has effectively lifted elderly consumption conversion rates, transforming traditional elderly care into high-quality wellness consumption.

Diversified innovative consumption scenarios spanning water tourism, cultural-themed trains, terminal festivals, traceable community catering and senior wellness services have been deeply integrated into daily life. These innovative practices convert temporary passenger flow into stable consumption retention and incremental market growth, delivering sustained impetus for the expansion and upgrading of new-type consumption in Hubei.