Hong Kong MICE sector fares better than expected
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Despite the challenging global economic climate in the latter half of last year, Hong Kong’s exhibition industry fared better than expected in 2008, according to a Xinhua. According to an annual market survey released yesterday by the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association (HKECIA), the number trade visitors last year totalled more than 551,000, falling 9.4% from 2007.
“Given the extreme economic circumstances facing most economies in the second half of the year, the result shows Hong Kong remains an important global sourcing hub as other countries had drops of 10 to 25%,” the HKECIA report said, adding that the number of trade visitors from mainland Chinese declined just 3% on year-on-tear to approximately 170,000. “These strong visitor numbers from the Chinese mainland are a powerful reminder that Hong Kong plays a pivotal role in connecting China to the rest of the world,” the report said.
The report also said that the space occupied by exhibitors in 2008 declined 2.4% from 2007. The number of exhibitions occupying a gross area of more than 1,819m
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