On January 21st, Guangdong China Travel Service's new retail brand "Somewhere" zero tariff collection store opened at the north gate of the Shamian White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou. Luo Qianguo, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Travel Control Group, and Hu Yiming, Chairman and Hu Xiongying, President of Guangdong China Travel Service, attended the opening ceremony. Hu Yiming said in an interview with Yangcheng Evening News that "Somewhere" is not only a place for cross-border shopping experience and leisure, but also a cultural exchange platform. "We hope that through this platform, the general public and tourists can understand and be exposed to global good products, and we also hope to promote the development of new retail industry in Guangzhou and even Guangdong Province.". Against the backdrop of strong cultural and tourism recovery, tourism consumption has shown a large number of new growth points, and traditional travel agencies have begun to actively expand innovative business areas. The Yangcheng Evening News reporter learned that the zero tariff collection store launched this time is an important layout of Guangdong Travel Control Group in the new retail field, and has become an innovative move for local traditional travel agencies to explore new business formats outside of their main tourism business. In 2021, Guangdong Province issued several policy measures to promote the high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce. According to data from the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, from 2015 to 2022, the import and export scale of cross-border e-commerce in Guangdong increased from 14.8 billion yuan to 645.4 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 72%, and its proportion of the national total is also continuously increasing. As of now, Guangdong has achieved full coverage of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in 21 cities across the province, ranking first in the country in terms of quantity. This provides Guangdong enterprises with extensive development opportunities and experimental venues. The opening of the "Somewhere" zero tariff collection store marks the official launch of Guangdong China Travel Service's strategic layout in cross-border e-commerce business. The industry believes that the entry of cross-border e-commerce will help enrich the cultural heritage of Shamian Island and help the transformation and upgrading of Shamian tourism destinations. It is reported that "Somewhere" zero tariff collection store takes "state-owned enterprise holding genuine product guarantee to buy globally" as quality assurance, and utilizes its own international supply chain resources to gather high-quality products from all over the world, including cosmetics, skincare and daily chemical products, health products, alcoholic beverages, etc. It will be built as a bridge connecting consumers with high-quality products from around the world. As the first travel agency retail experience store in Guangzhou to implement a zero tariff policy, its successful operation will accumulate valuable experience for the development of traditional travel agencies in the new retail field. The synchronous launch of the "Three Goose Global Selection" mini program combines online and offline shopping experiences, allowing citizens and tourists to enjoy one-stop cross-border shopping while also having more comprehensive shopping protection. Guangdong China Travel Service stated that it will take the opening of the "Somewhere" zero tariff collection store as an opportunity to further increase investment and exploration in new retail business, becoming a high-quality shopping platform trusted by consumers. (Lai Xin She)