An EHang 216 AAV flies above the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha, a coastal district in South China's Guangzhou, May 9, 2020. [Photo/ehang.com]

EHang Holdings Limited, the world's leading autonomous aerial vehicle technology platform company, has entered a strategic partnership with LN Holdings, a Shenzhen-listed tourism platform company, to further commercialize its AAVs by integrating urban air mobility solutions into the tourism company's businesses.

As one of the collaboration's initiatives, the introduction of EHang 216 AAV services into LN Garden Hotel will make it the world's first hotel to offer such services to its customers.

Senior executives from both companies attended a signing ceremony on Thursday in South China's Guangzhou, including Edward Xu, CSO of EHang, and Feng Jing, Party secretary and chairman of LN Group. Representatives from major media organizations also were invited to take rides on EHang 216 AAVs onsite for aerial trips over the hotel. At dusk, an aerial light show was performed by EHang to celebrate the new partnership.

The partnership between EHang and LN Holdings will start with a pilot program at the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha, a coastal district in Guangzhou, to build the world's first UAM-themed hotel.

The program will promote the innovative integration of aerial sightseeing, traveler transportation, air logistics, aerial media light shows, intelligent exhibitions and education. It also will promote the new experience of air tourism and explore other commercial use cases for EHang AAVs.

This cross-sector collaboration intends to set an example for integrated operation of air mobility solutions in the tourism industry, while also contributing to establishing Guangzhou as China's first and the world's leading UAM smart city and shaping the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to be the best place to live, work and travel, according to Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang.

"Helping to build Guangzhou into a global air mobility pilot city will help further promote the commercialization of the UAM ecosystem. Guests of LN Garden Hotel will experience our one-stop intelligent AAV services, including unique aerial sightseeing, convenient and autonomous air deliveries and high-tech aerial light shows," Hu said.

"We can fulfill customers' travel demands in the air and on the ground by combining intelligent technology with the tourist experience. Eventually, we will provide new products and services across different sectors, business categories and regions in the country," said Liang Lingfeng, general manager of LN Group and chairman of LN Holdings.

As a pioneer in the global UAM industry, EHang entered into a strategic agreement with Guangzhou government in August 2019 to develop the world's first UAM pilot city. In the future, tourists visiting Guangzhou will not only travel around landmarks such as the Canton Tower, Beijing Road and the Pearl River, but can also ride in an air taxi, the passenger-grade AAV, to enjoy the scenery of Guangzhou city from the air.

According to Morgan Stanley, the global UAM market should reach $1.5 trillion by 2040. The China market shows strong potential of $431 billion, accounting for almost 30 percent of the global UAM market.