Japan

Enticed by its gastronomy and eclectic mix of Chinese and Western cultures, many Japanese consumers consider Hong Kong to be an ideal short-break getaway travel destination. In 2017/18, we rolled out a number of creative campaigns endorsed by celebrities with support from the media and the travel trade to reinforce Hong Kong’s appeal to Japanese travellers.

Hong Kong Shingo Art

  • As of late September of 2018, global publicity value generated from Hong Kong Shingo Art: HK$55 million

We invited Japanese celebrity Shingo Katori, who is hugely famous in Japan, to paint a street art piece on the side wall of the Central-Mid-Levels escalator, the world’s longest outdoor covered escalator system. This collaboration helped attract Japanese art lovers to visit Hong Kong, especially during Hong Kong Arts Month in March 2018, and draw their attention to Old Town Central (OTC).

With the title Large Mouth Dragon Boy, Katori had chosen dragon, an auspicious symbol in feng shui, as the theme of his first overseas art piece. An integrated promotion was launched with an unveiling ceremony performed by Katori in Central, followed by cooperation with key Japanese national newspapers, distribution of the making-of videos and photos via media outlets and social media platforms with hashtag “hkshingoart”, and the launch of travel packages featuring Katori’s art piece by major Japanese travel agents.

©madameFIGAROjapon

©madameFIGAROjapon

©madameFIGAROjapon

Story featuring Kiko Mizuhara in madame Figaro japon

  • Publicity value generated by the madame Figaro japon feature: HK$4.5 million

Fashion magazine madame Figaro japon published a special feature of over 40 pages titled “24 hours, addicted to Hong Kong” to showcase Hong Kong’s allure from day to night. Featuring the HKTB’s “Star HK Mai” and famous Japanese model and actress Kiko Mizuhara, the story paid homage to the internationally renowned Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, whose films are widely appreciated in Japan. A dedicated page with a video of Mizuhara and 15 related articles were published on the magazine’s official website and generated widespread publicity.

Biggest-ever Japanese trade delegation

  • Five top Japanese wholesalers, namely JTB, H.I.S., Nippon Travel Agency, Kinki Nippon Tourist and JALPAK had included Old Town Central in their tour packages

The biggest-ever trade delegation comprising 60 key travel agents from Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo visited Hong Kong in June 2017. We arranged a four-day familiarisation trip for them to experience the latest tourism offerings, including Great Outdoors Hong Kong and OTC, and a contracting day on which they had the opportunity to meet over 100 Hong Kong travel trade representatives in one-on-one meetings to generate business leads.