Encouraged by the safe conduct of several B2B exhibitions in the physical format, the Hong Kong Tourism Board has big plans for the future.

After over a year’s disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, business exhibitions have staged a smart recovery as over 20 of these have been held physically in just three months – April to June.

Held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), following stringent preventive measures, the exhibitions in products and services ranging from technology and lifestyles to arts and jewellery attracted millions of visitors.

“We are delighted to see such a strong pick-up in demand for physical fairs. These events are a good demonstration of Hong Kong’s readiness to welcome business events of any scale, and also an encouraging sign for the exhibition industry that the physical show is invaluable and we are very much looking forward to a resumption of more trade fairs in the coming month,” says Kenneth Wong, general manager, MICE and Cruise of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Hong Kong has demonstrated to the world that holding physical exhibitions in a safe and seamless manner is possible and the visitors as well as exhibitors and the exhibition organisers were happy to return to business as usual.

“We are glad to see that our efforts paid off as our exhibitors and visitors alike were very satisfied with the overall arrangements. We’re grateful to HKCEC for its support and flexibility to enable the smooth and safe delivery of our events,” says Priscilla Lo, director of Hong Kong-Asia Exhibition (Holdings)Ltd.

Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) organised a five-day inaugural Lifestyles ShoppingFest, a one-step shopping experience for more than 55,000 consumers to have a broad selection of products, from global delicacies of fine jewellery and much more, presented by 430 exhibitors.

After this physical fair was conducted safely, with the strong free venue support from the Hong Kong government, several other B2B trade shows were also held such as Jewellery & Gem ASIA Hong Kong held by Informa Markets in late June, the inaugural HKTDC International Sourcing Show.

The HKTB officials say that the event pipeline is even stronger in the upcoming third quarter of the year and to enhance the confidence of event organisers, the subsidy scheme will be extended upto June 30, 2022.