Annual Report
2019/20
Hong Kong as the events capital would continue to showcase its vibrancy and positivity no matter rain or shine.
With a huge variety of events taking place year round, Hong Kong has firmly established its status as an events capital. In 2019/20, however, social incidents and the COVID-19 pandemic had forced many events to postpone or cancel. Mason Hung, General Manager of Event and Product Development (EPD) at the HKTB, shared how the HKTB continued to showcase the event appeal of Hong Kong and maintain relationships with event partners for future collaboration amidst the challenges.
“Over the past year, we worked around the external challenges and hosted planned mega events whenever circumstances allowed. For instance, we scheduled the e-Sport & Music Festival (EMFHK) together with Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong and introduced the ‘one ticket, two events’ package for the first time ever,” said Hung.
As a result, the event attracted almost 85,000 participants, 10,000 more than the previous year; the pre-registration tickets for the music performances ran out in three days; and the overall satisfaction score was 8.5 out of 10, proving the effectiveness of the HKTB’s strategy.
“Apart from organising our own mega events, the HKTB provides support to major events organised by other parties, which are indispensable to Hong Kong’s event offerings. Early last year, we promoted Hong Kong Sevens by erecting a 25-metre giant floating rugby ball in Victoria Harbour to maximise the event exposure in town. The event’s reach was also bolstered with a fan zone in the vicinity of the main venue, offering live music and rugby action on a big screen to extend the enjoyment to more visitors and Hong Kong people,” Hung explained.
“Although some events had downsized, rescheduled or changed format due to the impact of social incidents and COVID-19, the HKTB continued to offer its unwavering support to maintain the presence of these events,” Hung stressed. He cited the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, the festive ambience of which was enhanced with a giant traditional flower plaque; the promotional support for the Hong Kong Open, which attracted almost 37,000 spectators and 126 media from different parts of the world; and the “Art in Hong Kong” promotional window, during which the HKTB highlighted the online experiences offered by the signature arts events taking place in March 2020.
To tap on the growing popularity of trail running in the world, the HKTB also supported Hong Kong 100 Ultra Trail Race to draw visitors. The event has attracted a total of 1,112 overseas runners, making overseas participation exceed 40%, including those from far afield as France and the UK, to the US and Canada, and from Singapore and Malaysia to Thailand and Japan.
“Hong Kong as the events capital would continue to showcase its vibrancy and positivity no matter rain or shine.” Hung stressed.
With events that had to be cancelled, the EPD team dedicated their efforts to mitigating the impact on the concerned parties.
Shedding light on the HKTB’s plan B for the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, Hung said, “Given the social circumstances, it was only sensible for us to call off the festival, which was originally scheduled for October. The annual gastronomic event has long been an ideal business and branding opportunity for merchants as it attracts myriads of gourmets and wine lovers. To make up for the cancelled event, we enlarged the scale of the Hong Kong
Great November Feast threefold and created an online marketplace called ‘Hot Deals on the Grapevine’ for the first time for the festival exhibitors to promote their wine and spirits products. In the end, most of the Wine & Dine Festival merchants listed their products on the online marketplace, offering an impressive collection of wines from around 120 vendors with deals up to 30% off.”
Including the merchants on the online marketplace, the 2019 Great November Feast featured a record-breaking 600 restaurants and wine merchants across the city – five times more than the previous year.
merchants as it attracts myriads of gourmets and wine lovers. To make up for the cancelled event, we enlarged the scale of the Hong Kong Great November Feast threefold and created an online marketplace called ‘Hot Deals on the Grapevine’ for the first time for the festival exhibitors to promote their wine and spirits products. In the end, most of the Wine & Dine Festival merchants listed their products on the online marketplace, offering an impressive collection of wines from around 120 vendors with deals up to 30% off.”
Including the merchants on the online marketplace, the 2019 Great November Feast featured a record-breaking 600 restaurants and wine merchants across the city – five times more than the previous year.
“We are grateful for the strong bond and trust built through years of collaboration with various sponsors, event organisers, partners, government departments and participants. As soon as we confirmed the cancellation of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival, the HKTB offered sightseeing options and practice sessions in Shing Mun River to the guest athletes to ensure that they would still have a fruitful trip in Hong Kong. The guest teams were very understanding and said they would come again for future races.
The mutual trust shared with our stakeholders is the fruit of our colleagues’ continuous and patient engagement, and contributes to the staging of international events year after year, which is precisely what makes Hong Kong an unrivalled events capital,” Hung said with a positive note.
