Overview
- Being the world's 11th largest trading economy, Hong Kong has developed into a premier convention and exhibition centre in the region. As a free port with superb air connectivity at the heart of Asia, exhibits, exhibitors and visitors can move into Hong Kong conveniently, making the territory a preferred location in staging international conventions and exhibitions.
- Hong Kong was crowned as the “Best Business City in the World” at the 2009 Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Travel Awards.
- Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), a prime exhibition and convention venue in Hong Kong, completed its second expansion project in April 2009, increasing its exhibition space by 42% to 66,000 sqm.
- The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a “Meetings & Exhibitions Hong Kong” office (MEHK) in November 2008 to offer one-stop professional support to MICE organisers choosing Hong Kong as a destination for meetings and exhibitions.
- In the 2008-09 Budget, Hong Kong government earmarked HK$150 million (US$19.2 million) over 5 years to strengthen promotion on Hong Kong as a MICE destination.
- Under CEPA, Hong Kong service suppliers (HKSS) are allowed to organise exhibitions in the form of cross-border supply on a pilot basis in Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian.
Industry Data
Number of Trade Exhibitions and Conventions
|
|
2009
|
2008
|
|
Number of trade exhibitions
|
87
|
78
|
|
Number of conventions
|
236
|
233
|
Source: Meetings & Exhibitions Hong Kong
Overnight MICE Arrivals by Country/Region in 2009
|
Major markets
|
Visitor attendance
|
% Total
|
Growth (%)
|
|
The Chinese Mainland
|
441,646
|
37.9
|
6.7
|
|
South and Southeast Asia
|
185,340
|
15.9
|
6.1
|
|
Europe, Africa and the Middle East
|
176,145
|
15.1
|
-3.8
|
|
The Americas
|
131,027
|
11.2
|
-4.2
|
|
North Asia
|
115,507
|
9.9
|
-17.3
|
|
Taiwan
|
65,414
|
5.6
|
1.5
|
|
Australia, NZ and S Pacific
|
44,352
|
3.8
|
-3.6
|
|
Macau
|
5,417
|
0.5
|
-39.6
|
|
Total (overseas)
|
1,164,848
|
100
|
-0.2
|
Source: Meetings & Exhibitions Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Overnight Visitors
|
|
2008
|
2007
|
% change
|
|
Number of visitors (million)
|
17.3
|
17.2
|
+1%
|
|
For business and meetings
|
21%
|
20%
|
+5%
|
|
Per capita spending of business overnight visitors (US$)
|
862
|
821
|
+5%
|
Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board
Recent Development
More than 50 venues in various sizes are available in Hong Kong for exhibitions and conventions, with the HKCEC in the city centre and AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) near the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) being two of the largest venues. Total available exhibition space in Hong Kong now exceeds 150,000 sqm. In 2009, Hong Kong hosted more than 320 conventions and exhibitions, with more than 1.1 million overseas overnight MICE visitors.
Hong Kong has received worldwide recognition as one of the best destinations for MICE and business travellers. In 2009, Hong Kong was named as the “Best Business City in the World” at the 2009 Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Travel Awards. In 2010, Hong Kong came second in the Best MICE City Award organised by CEI Asia Pacific Magazine, an industry publication.
Recognising the importance of the MICE industry’s contribution to Hong Kong’s economy, Hong Kong government pledged in the 2008-09 Budget to spend HK$150 million (US$19.2 million) to augment Hong Kong’s position as a preferred MICE destination. With the supply of exhibition spaces at HKCEC and AWE are tight during peak seasons, the Hong Kong government is currently examining the feasibility of HKCEC Phase 3 expansion and AWE Phase 2 expansion.
In November 2008, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a “Meetings & Exhibitions Hong Kong” office to offer one-stop professional support to MICE organisers choosing Hong Kong as a destination for meetings and exhibitions. Such services include publicity, visitor promotion, coordination of site inspection, facilitation in securing local dignitary as officiating guest and liaison with government departments.
Service Providers
A wide variety of service companies are involved in the convention and exhibition industry, including event organisers, stand constructors, insurance companies, freight forwarders, travel agents and hotels. However, the central role played by event organisers in bringing together all these services makes them the most important industry service providers.
Exhibitions are broadly divided into two kinds: trade fairs and consumer fairs. The former targets buyers in specific industries operating largely on a B-to-B basis, while the latter is open to the public, thereby targeting primarily the local market. Well recognized as a regional trade hub, Hong Kong succeeds in attracting a lot of overseas exhibitors and buyers to attend the city’s trade shows, with attendees able to enjoy an international exposure within the show.
Some exhibition organisers also provide a one-stop-shop solution by organising, additionally, conferences and seminars, also bundling other side events to supplement the exhibitions. The main function of the supplementary events is to provide a holistic platform for the participants to have an exchange on recent industry developments and market information.
Some of the major international event organisers set up their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, which look after events organised in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland. In general, the larger international organisations have a wide variety of shows whereas the smaller organisers tend to specialise in organising similar shows in different locations.
Apart from activities organised in the territory, Hong Kong's convention and exhibition organisers are also active in arranging their exhibitors to exhibit overseas. While the Chinese mainland is a priority, organisers are also actively looking for locations to organise their trade and exhibition events. Locations include not only those in developed markets, but also developing markets like the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
As of February 2010, there were 169 hotels offering 59,994 rooms in Hong Kong compared with only 101 hotels and 39,128 rooms in 2004, increasing by 67% and 53% respectively over the seven years.
Hotels in Hong Kong, February 2010
|
|
High Tariff A Hotels
|
High Tariff B Hotels
|
Medium Tariff Hotels
|
Unclassified Hotels
|
All Hotels
|
|
Hotels
|
30
|
56
|
70
|
13
|
169
|
|
Rooms
|
16,595
|
21,239
|
16,894
|
5,266
|
59,994
|
|
Average tariff (Jan-Feb,2010)
|
US$226
|
US$106
|
US$67
|
- -
|
US$133
|
Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board
Exports of Services
A main source of export income from the convention and exhibition industry is the spending by overseas participants to events held in Hong Kong.
According to the latest available figures from the Economic Impact Study commissioned by the HKECIA, the exhibition industry contributed HK$30.2 billion (US$3.9 billion) to Hong Kong's economy in 2008, up 59% from 2004. Of this amount, HK$9.7 billion (US$1.2 billion) came from direct spending by trade fair visitors, and HK$5.4 billion (US$0.7 billion) from spending by event organisers and exhibitors (both local and overseas).
The exhibition industry's activities during 2008 were estimated to have provided an employment equivalent to 61,000 full-time jobs across a number of related industries, up 29.8% from 47,000 in 2004. Sectors benefiting the most were food & beverage, retail and hotel, taking up an estimated 66% of the employment created. The remaining 34% went to various sectors including stand construction, advertising, logistics and freight forwarding.
Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between Hong Kong and the Mainland (CEPA)
The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), an agreement signed between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland to facilitate trade in goods and services, allows Hong Kong convention and exhibition service suppliers to provide, in the form of wholly-owned operations, convention services and exhibition services on the mainland from 1 January 2004. Those operations set up by Hong Kong service suppliers (HKSS) on the mainland under CEPA can also undertake relevant businesses in Hong Kong and Macau.
Under CEPA, HKSS are allowed to organise exhibitions, in the form of cross-border supply, in Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian on a pilot basis. Companies set up by HKSS are allowed to organise overseas exhibitions on a pilot basis for locally-registered enterprises in Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Hunan, Hainan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.
From October 2009, Guangdong Province is entrusted with the authority to approve applications of HKSS in organising foreign economic and technical exhibitions with an exhibition area exceeding 1,000 sqm within the province.
