ShanghaiJune 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 2026 Shenzhen International Hotel & Catering Industry Expo (2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen) will be grandly held at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center from October 13 to 15, 2026.
The expo will be held concurrently with the 4th Connexion Shenzhen, covering an area of 200,000 square meters, bringing together 2,000+ outstanding exhibitors from upstream and downstream industries both domestically and internationally, as well as 150,000+ professional buyers from home and abroad. It connects ten major business sectors, deeply roots itself in the fertile market of South China, leverages the advantages of smart industry empowerment, solidifies its position as a bridgehead for Chinese cuisine going global, and builds a one-stop top-tier platform for brand exposure, channel expansion, business matchmaking, and global layout.
I. Tapping into the Trillion-Dollar Blue Ocean of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Unlocking Three Core Advantages of the Hotel and Catering Industry
Deeply cultivating the hot land of the Bay Area and gaining insights into industry trends, South China has long become a strategic high ground for the hotel and catering industry. Relying on its unique geographical advantages, huge market consumption volume, complete industrial supporting ecosystem, coupled with the empowerment of smart industries and the tailwind of Chinese cuisine going global, the 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen, rooted in Shenzhen Bao’an, precisely targets the dividends of South China’s export-oriented market, providing exhibitors with excellent opportunities to open up incremental markets and break through development bottlenecks.
The Trillion-Dollar Market of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Leads the Nation in Consumption Scale. As China’s largest catering province, Guangdong’s catering industry scale has long ranked first in the country. It boasts a strong manufacturing base comparable to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, as well as a unique catering and food culture not inferior to Sichuan and Chongqing, forming a complete industrial ecosystem from ingredient supply, equipment manufacturing, operation services to end-consumption.
Deep Empowerment by Smart Industries, Reconstructing a New Hotel and Catering Ecosystem. Relying on Shenzhen’s top-tier industrial clusters in electronics manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and industrial automation, South China has become the forefront and innovation test field for the smart transformation of the hotel and catering industry.
The 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen, in conjunction with the newly upgraded Machinery and Electronics Theme Expo of Connexion Shenzhen, integrates core sectors such as food machinery, processing and packaging, catering equipment, electronics and appliances, lighting and smart technology, industrial automation, and robotics. It deeply links the entire hotel and catering industry chain, creating a precise matchmaking platform for manufacturing sources + end-use application scenarios. The expo gathers world-class smart manufacturing, electronics and home appliances, and smart equipment companies, connecting the entire chain from technology R&D, product implementation to scenario application. For exhibitors, participating in the expo not only directly addresses the smart equipment procurement needs of hotels, restaurants, and commercial terminals but also leverages South China’s smart industry resources to achieve product innovation iteration, technological upgrades and breakthroughs, escape homogeneous low-price competition, seize the opportunity of industry smart transformation, and build core corporate competitiveness.
Bridgehead for Chinese Cuisine Going Global, Connecting Vast Global Business Opportunities. With its geographical proximity to Southeast Asia, mature foreign trade and business environment, and complete cross-border supply chain support, South China is undoubtedly the frontline and core transit hub for Chinese cuisine going global.
The organizer of the 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen, Shanghai UBM International Exhibition Co., Ltd., as China’s first Sino-foreign cooperative exhibition company, has rich experience and accumulation in overseas layout and resources. Whether it’s high-quality overseas suppliers or professional overseas channel agents and distributors, they all regard the HOTELEX platform as the preferred platform for understanding and connecting with Chinese business. At this Shenzhen expo, the combination of this professional industry endorsement and Shenzhen’s geographical advantages will become another grand event for Chinese cuisine going global!
II. Positioning at Key Industry Procurement Nodes, Creating a One-Stop Full Industry Chain Trade Platform
As the flagship expo for the hotel and catering industry in South China, the 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen integrates resources across the entire industry chain, precisely targeting the needs of professional buyers in various niche tracks, helping exhibitors achieve precise and efficient order placement at the expo site.
This expo is rescheduled for the first time to mid-October, right after the inventory consumption during the National Day peak period and at the critical node for preparing for the year-end golden consumption season. This is precisely the concentrated outbreak period for procurement needs in the hotel and catering industry. Additionally, the expo will be held concurrently with the first phase of the Autumn Canton Fair, sharing top global buyer resources.
The expo site will gather 2,000+ outstanding exhibitors, covering the entire industry chain including hotel supplies, catering equipment, food ingredients, coffee and tea, private labels and OEM, smart lighting, cleaning and sanitation, food machinery, cross-border e-commerce, and deeply related channel resources for the hotel and catering industry. It is expected to attract 150,000+ professional buyers from home and abroad to visit, inspect, and procure, jointly building this full-category, one-stop efficient trade industry event.
III. Professional Matchmaking, Precise Buyer Connections, Multi-Dimensional Upgraded Experience in Trade Matchmaking Services
At the expo site, we are upgrading the experience of our established trade matchmaking services, combining market trends, demand changes, and hot topic shifts. The design of themes and special sessions will be more targeted and efficient, helping exhibitors quickly lock in key clients and accelerate order placement.
In terms of tapping domestic demand, the expo will continue to delve into the potential of the hotel and catering market in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, inviting local industry associations from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and surrounding provinces and cities, covering hotels, culinary arts, tourism, chain operations, new retail, coffee and tea, aquatic products, wine, and fruits. It will continuously expand professional buyer groups, bringing together large-value orders with specific needs.
In terms of expanding overseas incremental markets, the expo will build on mature markets in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand from previous editions, and expand from “neighbors” to “distant oceans,” especially emerging overseas destinations like South America, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, helping Chinese cuisine open up new horizons globally.
The expo will efficiently integrate these excellent order demands through the HOTELEX Food & Beverage Preferred Matchmaking Event. With efficient orders and precise resources as core goals, it transforms traditional passive reception into proactive outreach. By locking in buyer demands in advance and adopting a 1V1 efficient negotiation trade matchmaking model on-site, it builds an efficient bridge for exhibitors to deeply explore regional market increments, directly engage with overseas buyers, dialogue with cross-border e-commerce platforms, and connect with foreign trade distributors.
IV. 100+ Competitions and Events: Defining Innovation and Direction Through Insights and Competition
The 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen will concurrently host 100+ international competitions, themed forums, and popular market activities, gathering the intellectual resources of industry guests and the innovative resources of participants, along with observations of C-end consumer sentiment, providing decision-making support for market trends and product innovation.
The themed forum activities of this expo will focus on hot market topics, inviting super brains from upstream and downstream industries, including industry associations, enterprises, and institutions. Especially, high-growth brands and business owners with outstanding annual performance will gather to analyze market perceptions, interpret trend judgments, share response strategies, and anchor growth points.
The series of international professional competitions prepared for this expo include world coffee series competitions, trendy beverages, culinary arts, pizza, chocolate, and other hot categories. These not only gather top talents in various tracks, showcasing high-level skills in niche competition areas, attracting numerous spectators to observe elite competition up close, but also provide a platform for the dissemination of more new technologies, the implementation of more novel product applications, and the cultivation of industry talent.
The expo will also feature popular market activities around hot categories such as coffee, tea, light intoxication, and small appliances, inviting active C-end chain brands and boutique stores. Concurrently, special activities like intangible cultural heritage shows and champion showcases will be held, attracting a large number of C-end consumers to the site for check-in experiences, helping exhibitors observe market trends, understand consumer sentiment, and grasp the direction of hot spots.
V. Revamped and Upgraded Super Lineup, Two Theme Expos Linking Ten Sectors
As a flagship expo in South China, the 4th Connexion Shenzhen integrates multiple resources, connects the entire upstream and downstream industry chain, links the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and radiates to the Southeast Asian market. Targeting 150,000+ domestic and international professional buyers, it provides a one-stop trade platform covering raw material supply, manufacturing and processing, and end products, promoting precise supply-demand matching, helping enterprises expand markets, and driving high-quality regional economic development.
Dual-wheel drive, sector interconnection. Based on the theme expos for catering, hotels, furniture, health, and lifestyle, the organizer integrates sectors from the joint expo such as food machinery, processing and packaging, catering equipment, lighting and electrical appliances, and cleaning equipment. It adds new product categories for electronics and electrical appliances, prominently launching a new Machinery and Electronics Theme Expo, creating an industrial display cluster for processing and packaging, catering equipment, electronics and electrical appliances, and lighting and cleaning. This forms a new framework of “two theme expos + ten sector linkages,” covering the entire industry chain from manufacturing to end products, gathering world-class industrial clusters in electronics, home appliances, and machinery equipment, driving the transformation of traditional manufacturing towards high-end, smart, and green development.
VI. Shenzhen Expo Booths Now Under Hot Recruitment, Inviting Enterprises Across the Entire Industry Chain to Embark on a New Journey
Rooted in the trillion-dollar market of South China, leveraging the global business opportunities of the Canton Fair, and opening up dual channels for domestic sales and foreign trade, the 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen is the unmissable choice for hotel and catering supply chain enterprises to expand into the South China market, connect with global procurement, achieve brand upgrade breakthroughs, and layout overseas tracks!
Prime booths are now hotly reserved. From October 13 to 15, 2026, at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (Bao’an New Venue), the 2026 HOTELEX Shenzhen Expo looks forward to joining hands with you to deeply explore domestic demand, jointly explore overseas breadth, and seize the first-mover advantage in the trillion-dollar South China market!