Hong Kong’s Lantau Island to be Promoted as MICE Hub

Lantau Island – the biggest island in Hong Kong – holds more than unspoiled greenery, famous attractions, and multifarious cultural and entertainment options, its diverse tourism offerings also  include state-of-the-art convention and exhibition facilities, as well as hotel venues and shopping malls.

Plus, with its close proximity to Hong Kong International Airport, the island has great potential to become a hub for meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (MICE).

In order to promote the island as a one-stop MICE destination, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has teamed up with a number of MICE and travel trade partners on a new initiative named “Lantau Experience: An Inspirational MICE Destination”, which features a range of promotional activities.

HKTB Chairman Mr James Tien said, “In selecting a venue for MICE events, many organisers consider not just the venue, but also the ancillary facilities, including hotels and attractions, in the vicinity. Lantau Island can cater for different MICE activities with its comprehensive portfolio of venues, attractions, as well as wide-ranging cultural and nature experiences. To fully unleash the MICE potential of Lantau, the HKTB is intensifying promotions to attract overseas MICE events to the island. We also aim to encourage the MICE trade and visitors to visit and experience the island, which will not only serve to extend their stay in Hong Kong, but also generate further business opportunities for the local trade.

“This year, we are seeing satisfactory performance in the MICE business. In the first eight months of 2011, Hong Kong has already welcomed some 920,000 overnight MICE visitor arrivals, 12% more than last year. Taking into account the MICE events confirmed for the rest of the year, we expect that we could reach our target of a 12%-growth to about 1.6 million overnight MICE arrivals for the year,” Mr Tien added.

Partners joining the HKTB in this collaboration include: AsiaWorld-Expo Management Limited, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Hong Kong International Airport, Discovery Bay – Hong Kong Resort Company Ltd, Ngong Ping 360, as well as other attractions, hotels and MICE venues on Lantau.

The HKTB has already mapped out a three-pronged strategy to promote the island. First, teaming up with local trade partners, the HKTB will enhance promotions of Lantau at a series of major international MICE trade shows. Making use of these global platforms, the HKTB will raise awareness of Lantau’s MICE facilities and advantages, such as through publications distributed to the show participants.

Second, the HKTB will package and promote Lantau MICE tourism products and discounts offered by the Hong Kong travel trade, and organise familiarisation tours for overseas MICE organisers, with a view to motivating them to include Lantau in the itineraries of their clients.

Third, leveraging on the online platforms, the HKTB is planning to build and include a dedicated Hong Kong web page in websites popular with the MICE trade, highlighting the city’s latest MICE news, so as to reach out to more event organisers and publicise Lantau’s offerings.

From October 2011 through 2013, a total of 42 meetings and exhibitions have been already confirmed to take place on Lantau Island. These include events such as WineFuture 2011 Hong Kong, which is making its Asian debut, CARTES in Asia and the Asia-Pacific Conference of the Junior Chamber International in 2012, as well as Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress in 2013.

Meanwhile, over 600 employees from Saishunkan Co Ltd, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, have confirmed their incentive trip to Lantau Island. Their visit not only underlines Lantau’s appeal, but also reflects that outbound travel from Japan is gradually recovering from the earthquake in March 2011.

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