Puneet Kumar, Director, South Asia & Middle East, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), outlines current trends of Hong Kong’s tourism and importance of the India market. Excerpts from interview:
Hong Kong is building a sustainable tourism strategy by focusing on promoting unique local culture and developing diversified tourism experiences. This includes crafting in-depth cultural experiences that showcase the city’s vibrant blend of Eastern and Western influences.
What measures is HKTB taking to clear the perception of Hong Kong as MICE destination?
Hong Kong’s high connectivity, globally and with India, helps people and businesses achieve excellence in their chosen fields. With sound fundamentals, a strategic location, advanced soft and hard infrastructure, and world-class talent, Hong Kong is Asia’s world city – a place where people and businesses from around the world can connect with opportunities throughout the region.
Hong Kong is progressively recovering its tourism business from all the key source markets, including India. In 1H 2024, we registered a strong momentum of business recovery. Hong Kong welcomed 181,000 visitors from India, which is 89% of the pre-COVID time. Hong Kong has warmly welcomed a diverse segment of Indian travellers for leisure, business travel, and MICE with a range of marketing initiatives, including promoting mega events and exclusive special offers.
India is one of the top five source markets for the incentive group travel segment of the MICE business, and we have registered a robust rebound in demand from Indian corporates to stage events for their distributor networks, reward employees, or organize global meets for senior management.
HKTB is prioritizing the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) segment, which has shown robust recovery. With approximately 700,000 international MICE arrivals in the first half of 2024, the HKTB is promoting Hong Kong as a premier destination for corporate events.
To further cultivate the MICE segment, we have launched a brand new program, “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook,” that offers over 100 authentic HK experiences and 40+ innovative team-building ideas. These unique offerings are designed to excite and attract incentive groups, thereby enhancing Hong Kong’s appeal in this competitive market.
HKTB is offering new funding schemes, professional planning, and advisory support, and exclusive hospitality offers to give the edge in planning and staging events for event organisers and corporates.
How would you explain the current tourism trends from India?
Hong Kong is one of the most loved destinations by Indian visitors as it offers a 14-day visa-free travel by completing online Pre-Arrival Registration (PAR) valid for six (6) months, multiple entry, and free of charge. India-Hong Kong is seamlessly connected with 48 weekly flights from 4 major ports, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, by multiple airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo that offer different ranges of airfares and flying options.
HKTB frequently presents value-for-money offers exclusively for our international visitors to welcome them and give them an in-depth experience of Hong Kong. Recently, HKTB launched the “Summer Chill Hong Kong”, which offers 500,000 sets of triple-rewards to overnight visitors, enhancing their travel experience through local transportation, sightseeing, dining, and retail benefits, totalling over HK$100 million.
What new elements have HKTB incorporated into its marketing and promotional strategy?
At HKTB, we are focused on curating digital-first content that is embedded with ASMR and AR/VR simulation for new-age, tech-savvy travellers to make them reimagine their tourism discovery in Hong Kong; here are five HK authentic themes and experiences that would resonate with our target audiences:
Sustainability
Hong Kong is home to the world’s simplest and most effective sustainable solutions. From prioritizing green assets to conserving the natural environment, the city has embraced sustainability in its soul. A robust public transportation system, green buildings, preserving traditional Hakka villages, food up-cycling, and designation of natural parks are just a few ways the city has created a mark in sustainable practices.
Celebrating Art
Hong Kong is often attributed as the hub of arts in Asia, and rightly so. The city has focused on organizing global arts events, creating art districts and hotspots, hosting exhibitions, and much more. The recent opening of Hong Kong Palace Museum – a cultural landmark with timeless treasures, M+ museum of visual cultures, redevelopment of the Hong Museum of Art – stories of the city and Tai Kwun – a fusion of heritage and art, are proof of city’s commitment to art sector and supporting the local community and the artists.
Bringing the world together through food
Hong Kong knows how to appreciate and enjoy its local food and world cuisines. From Michelin Star restaurants to bars championing sustainability to traditional minority cuisines, the city has created a culture around food that is nonreplicable in any other part of the world. Tourists flock to the city from across the globe to experience everything from vegan food to exotic seafood. The upcoming “Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival” and “Taste AroundTown” are the most celebrated annual events that bring the festival’s chillaxing vibes into different neighborhoods across the city.
Adventure for all
Asia’s World City is not just about tall skyscrapers and fast-moving city life. Hong Kong has always been what any tourist wants it to be. From keeping more than 70% of its geographical area under green cover for nature lovers to clean hiking trails to the top of mountains for the outdoor person to extreme adventure sports for pumping the adrenaline inside, Hong Kong has something to offer for everyone.
Hong Kong announced that it will be hosting 100 mega events during H2 this year. What sort of number are you expecting from India for these events?
Hong Kong is set to host over 100 mega events in the second half of 2024, aiming to attract approximately 1.7 million visitors and generate a significant tourist influx from India.
HKTB is eagerly anticipating a significant number of visitors from India for the 100 mega events planned for the second half of 2024. Given the impressive business recovery in tourism from India, where 181,000 visitors were recorded in the first half of the year—a 155% year-on-year increase—HKTB is optimistic about attracting more Indian tourists to these events, making each visitor feel valued and important.
With the combination of targeted marketing efforts, year-round mega-events, and the growing interest from Indian travellers, the HKTB expects a notable influx of visitors from India for these upcoming mega-events, contributing to the overall tourism growth in Hong Kong.
What new tourism products are in the pipeline?
Even during the pandemic, HK never stopped developing new infrastructure and new tourism opportunities as it unveiled new mega infrastructure like the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai bridge and High-speed railway system that not only offer excellent connectivity but reduced travel time from Hong Kong to the Greater Bay Area full of spectacular tourist attractions, newest tourism developments such as 11 Skies the most extensive retail, dining & entertainment (RDE) Hub, Kai Tak Sports Park a multi-purpose global sporting & wellness hub and West Kowloon District the world largest cultural project dotted with newest Art & Culture attractions, museums, unique event venues such as Hong Kong Palace Museum, M+, Xiqu Centre, Art Park, and Free Space that would delight our overseas visitors with high dose of world-class immersive experience.
During H1 2024, Indian traffic to HK increased by 154%. You aim to double Indian arrivals for the whole year. How are you going to achieve this goal, and what is the India-specific strategy?
2024 is the Year of Conversion. Building on the foundation of the steady, gradual tourism recovery of 2023, we will devote full efforts in 2024 to convert travellers’ intention to visit into actual arrivals.
HKTB will work very closely with our travel trade to curate unique product offerings that leverage immersive experiences or mega events, which are highly sought after by visitors.
