Hong Kong is welcoming business events back, with large trade exhibitions the first to resume thanks to strict hygiene protocol and government support.
Vegetarian and healthy living events The Lohas Expo 2020 and Vegetarian Food Asia 2020 took place last month at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), with record-breaking attendance.
The two-in-one exhibition attracted more than 32,000 visitors across three days (up 8 per cent year-on-year) and more than 12,000 online pre-registered visitors.
Baobab Tree Event, the organisers of the two exhibitions, said the high attendance rates prove the “green living trend” has risen throughout the global pandemic.
“Exhibitors were also happy with the visitor traffic and their sales results were good,” said managing director Culsin Li.
“Hygiene is a top priority for our event planning and we collaborated closely with the HKCEC to offer a safe and hygienic environment for our exhibitors and buyers so that they could explore the healthy lifestyle business trends with peace of mind.”
Government support
Baobab Tree Event was one of the first organisers to benefit from the Hong Kong Government’s Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme, which offers to cover 100 per cent of the venue hire cost for exhibitions and international conventions held at the HKCEC and AsiaWorld-Expo.
Hong Kong Tourism Board general manager MICE and cruise Kenneth Wong said the board is grateful business events have resumed with strong momentum.
“Following the recent launch of the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble, we are confident and very much look forward to the gradual resumption of business events of all sizes in the near future,” he said.
Strict hygiene measures
With tens of thousands of delegates walking through the doors, HKCEC ensured stringent hygiene and safety protocols were in place.
These included temperature checking on arrival, mandatory wearing of face masks, enhanced ventilation and cleaning measures throughout the venue, hand sanitiser stations and special rubbish bins for used face masks.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Management Limited deputy managing director Thomas Tong said the measures put the safety of exhibitors, visitors and staff first.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have adopted stringent procedures and worked closely with event organisers to integrate preventive measures in event arrangements — be it in floor plan design, access control, queuing logistics or F&B provision — in compliance with regulatory requirements and industry guidelines and best practices,” he said.
