The Hong Kong Tourism Board is launching new products designed to drive high-yield business tourism to the SAR as well as mixing up a new mega events appeal with MICE visitors invited to top-class food and wine experiences.
The annual flagship ‘Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival’ returned this year (23-26 October) with the theme ‘Remix. Best of all worlds’, adding a new chapter to Hong Kong’s reputation as a world-class epicurean capital and premier destination for business as well as leisure. The new HKTB strategic initiatives engaged high-yield visitors and convention and exhibition participants from nine strategic markets during the Festival. These included an exclusive sommelier wine-pairing private tour and a top agent award gala dinner.
The HKTB also used the opportunity to launch new incentive products in the ‘Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0: New Discovery Product Update’ at an event for 300 agents and partners on 24 October at Ocean Park Marriott Hotel.
The HKTB hosted agents from nine short-haul markets – Chinese Mainland, India, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and The Philippines for a familiarisation trip from 22-27 October. The guests were able to get a taste of the new incentive products as well as being recognised for their achievements in bringing groups to Hong Kong over the past year.
The guests were treated to a Cantonese gala dinner crafted by five master chefs, underscoring the city’s dual appeal as a global gastronomic hub and MICE powerhouse.
Jennifer Ma, executive president of Grand China MICE Holdings Co. Ltd., remarked that corporate groups from the Chinese Mainland place particular importance on food, making the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival highly attractive to them. “This kind of opportunity is especially popular among many young people in Chinese enterprises,” she noted. Additionally, she mentioned that the upgraded Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0 together with its new ‘Empowerment’ theme and HKTB’s curated familiarisation trip in Hong Kong, provided insights into many new tourism resources, such as events and venues, helping Chinese Mainland enterprises better plan future MICE travel activities to Hong Kong.
Playbook 2.0 delivers 200+ fresh experiences, from fencing workshops and billiard masterclasses to tours of grand auction houses, iconic movie sets and traditional Chinese temples, immersing MICE travellers in Hong Kong’s vibrant culture. Two new themes – Cruise and Empowerment – have been added to broaden itinerary possibilities, taking the excitement to the sea at Victoria Harbour.
Ornnichcha Chomraka of Bonus Travel, Thailand, said that the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival coincides with public holidays in Thailand, making it an ideal time for Thai food lovers to visit Hong Kong and enjoy the experience. She also observed a growing interest among companies in cruise tourism products, which can combine a two-day Hong Kong land itinerary with a cruise voyage.
