February 2019

Hong Kong’s travel spending, which rank world’s tenth largest market by total outbound spending in 2016 was up by 5.8 percent to USD25.5 billion in 2017.  In 2018, Hong Kong citizens made 92.21 million departures in 2018 – averaging 12.4 departures per person. Total revenue of the city’s outbound package tours in that year grew by 8.1 percent.

An online survey last November interviewed 1,000 Hong Kong citizens found 23 percent of respondents said overseas holiday, is the largest spending item of their salary not including rent or mortgage.

During Hong Kong’s only travel fair last year that is, ITE Hong Kong 2018, FIT dominate Hong Kong outbound travels of which 84 percent prefer FIT or private group.  They are said to be highly educated (42 percent are university graduates with another 34 percent post-secondary education) and, likely with good income.

The ITE 2018 survey also found there is an interest in in-depth and theme travels. Some 4,000 replies were collected with trade visitors’ interest on study tour 28 percent, overseas wedding 21 percent, eco-tourism 35 percent and sport tourism 23 percent.

This year the ITE Hong Kong 2019, the 33rd ITE (leisure) and the 14th ITE MICE, will be held from 13 to 16 June 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.  Official pavilions in the ITE series highlight theme travels with over 85 percent of some 700 exhibitors from abroad.  The show also covers leisure and MICE travel.

For more details please visit www.itehk.com, and for enquiry contact the organizer TKS Exhibition Services Ltd, Emailtravel@tkshk.com or Tel: +852 31550600 or Wechat: itehongkong QQ: 3171980873

IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry has announced, registration is now open for IAAPA Expo Asia 2019 (formerly Asian Attractions Expo). This year it is expected, more than 8,500 global amusement park and attractions industry professionals from more than 60 countries and regions will gather at the trade show.

The 11,000-net-square-metre trade floor at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre will feature, some 300 exhibiting companies displaying the latest innovative products and services designed, for the multibillion dollar attractions industry in Asia.

Attendees will also be able to participate in in-depth learning and education programs as well as, general education sessions on a wide choice of topics ranging from facility operations, marketing, public relations and communications, entertainment, government relations, security and safety, information technology, food and beverage, merchandise and games and human resources to name a few.

This year IAAPA Expo Asia will be held from June 11 to 14. For more information, please visit www.IAAPA.org or connect through social media channels: @IAAPAHQ #IAAPA.

The exhibition officially opened on Monday, February 18 with a one day Knowledge Exchange Program of inspiring talks and networking and two days of full meetings between exhibitors and buyers.  Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) owner, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) impressed delegates at the show this year, with its newly designed exhibition stand that projected the best of Melbourne.

The AIME Knowledge Exchange Program saw over 600 hosted buyers, exhibitors and media attend engaging sessions and workshops at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Topics and discussions included exploring community, the power of technology, the importance of face-to-face meetings and challenging both the meeting norms and our own perceptions of ability in Dialogue in the Dark.

Following the day of Knowledge, delegates gathered at Atlantic Group’s Peninsula for the AIME welcome event and were treated to something special with a focus on networking. The evening was a true celebration of the Asia-Pacific region with exotic styling theme across different rooms.  To kick off the night, guests were entertained by an awe-inspiring performance of the Wadaiko Japanese drums. Guests were then taken on a sensory culinary journey across the Asia-Pacific culminating with a decadent floating dessert station.

Throughout the show, the floor had a continued buzz as buyers moved from stand to stand fulfilling their matched meetings with well over 5,000 formal meetings. Horses walked into the Northern Territory breakfast meeting and; as part of the Arts Centre ‘Melbourne Play Me, I’m Yours’ series, a piano is placed in the most unexpected places at the Melbourne stand, for passers-by to play the piano – a fun invitation for delegates to participate and share Melbourne’s music and visual arts.

Meanwhile, the new Melbourne stand showcased the city’s vibrant culture and uncover Victoria’s major icons, attractions and events, through a series of interactive activation zones dedicated to the arts, major events and food and beverage emphasising on Team Melbourne’s philosophy of delivering business events.

An interesting highlight at this year’s AIME is its partnership with Australia’s most-trusted charity, Guide Dogs Victoria through a sensory experience workshop of the show’s Knowledge Program.  Sponsored by the Melbourne Convention Bureau, this innovation marks the world’s first industry sensory experience.

AIME 2019 was held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from February 18 to 20.

Paul Vallee is managing director of the BestCities Global Alliance. He is responsible for the successful delivery of the alliance’s strategic plan, performance monitoring and overseeing its operations. Here he speaks on the growing trend for partnerships in associations and how the industry can benefit from collaboration.

Why are partnerships so important?

The beauty of a partnership, to me, is working together to complement one another and to build something creative and fresh that one may not have otherwise been able to do. That’s the primary advantage and the purpose of partnering. BestCities as an alliance has built its foundations on partnerships and works to help destinations and associations identify partnerships that would work for them.

How can an organisation find the right partner for them?

You have to consider your association’s needs and areas of strength, using that as a basis to define where the best fit lies. What is it that will make you as an organisation prosper? The best way to identify a suitable partner is to find those who are complimentary to what it is you are doing. It’s not about the similarities, it’s the differences that organisations may have that can make the partnership flourish – meaning that even the more unconventional pairings shouldn’t be ruled out when considering a partnership.

When an association is considering a partnership, they need to find a party that are willing to put in an equal amount of effort which takes shape in various forms, from money, to time, resource, knowledge and man power.

What are the key benefits of a partnership?

 The key elements where partnerships can benefit an organisation are, like anything in business, improving the bottom line, whether it’s financial or otherwise, increasing sales and enhancing reputation.

What’s an example of an effective partnership that you have observed?

One that I have overseen and have been closest to would be between BestCities and ICCA, because while we exist in the same sphere, we are not exactly the same. We work together with ICCA on various programmes that give back to the industry, such as the recognition programme and Incredible Impacts. We’re a business and a global alliance, whereas they are an association that works in education and holding conferences. They offer areas of skills and expertise that we don’t have and vice versa.

Are there common challenges that associations would need to overcome in partnerships?

There are definitely challenges that can arise when establishing a partnership. One thing to consider is that ‘no partner is more important that the other’. Regardless of the scale of the organisation, its key to avoid a hierarchal partnership, as each organisation involved should be bringing an equal amount of value to the collaboration.

Another potential challenge is being able to agree upon and streamline the common goal and objective to work towards. You’ve got to be tolerant, you’ve got to be flexible, you’ve got to trust one another and recognise that each partner has strengths and weaknesses – understanding and overcoming cultural or operational differences.

Where do you see the future of collaboration and partnership with associations going and BestCities’ role within that?

When associations and destinations find common ground, great things can happen. For example, an association that specialises in the eradication of a disease will find common ground from destinations that wants to improve the health of the citizens. Or for instance, an association whose purpose is to reduce child poverty is really no different to a destination who wants to see their young people survive and thrive.

What we’re moving towards is associations taking advantage of the benefits of collaboration and partnership in refreshing new ways, using these to extend offers and working towards a better future that benefits all. That’s a partnership to me.

How does BestCities decide on which destinations to join its partnership?

There are key criteria for the Alliance when considering new destinations joining the partnership. Among many things, we consider destinations that have demonstrated leadership in working towards joint goals, being accountable for results, having open and honest communications and thinking long term.

We look for partners that demonstrate a track record in partnering and collaboration, with a compelling reputation, which adds value to the Alliance through everything from cultural diversity, geographic balance and client reach.