The Economic and Technological Development Bureau’s (DSEDT) “Arraial na [Rua dos] Ervanários” (關前薈) featuring augmented reality (AR) that combines technology and the community’s scene, which is themed “Gata da [Rua dos] Ervanários” (“Molly in the Street of the Herbalists”), and has attracted more than 120,000 online visits since it kicked off in June, so it has been decided to extend the activity to next February, according to a statement by the bureau yesterday.
The statement said that according to the findings of an online survey conducted by the bureau, about 85 percent of the respondents extended their stay in the Rua dos Ervanários community and 75 percent increased their spending in the district, adding that since its launch in late June, the programme has been well received by merchants in the district, who wish to continue to participate in the programme.
With the combination of innovative visual technology applications in the district, the statement added that the number of participating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has increased to 39, and new offers for shoppers would also be launched in conjunction with the programme.
The event has been jointly promoted with Xiaohongshu (aka Little Red Book), and has generated over 10 million views about event-related topics, the statement said, resulting in lots of buzz on the popular social media platform and gathering high-quality “Shopping, Eating and Playing” types of posts shared by the netizens to further expand online traffic.
The activity features “the attraction of affectionate cats scattered around the neighbourhood” with a number of large-scale installations for photography spots, aiming to attract more residents and tourists to visit and consume in the area, thus boosting foot traffic there, the statement said.
The “arraial”, which was launched in 2021, is an open-air fun fair similar to neighbourhood festivals held in Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Arraial na Ervanários takes place between Rua dos Ervanários (關前正街) and Rua da Tercena (果欄街).
This screenshot from Xiaohongshu (aka Little Red Book) provided by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) yesterday shows different aspects of the “Arraial na Ervanários” activity.
