Hong Kong research shows exhibitons worth US$2.4bn

The economic impact study was commissioned by the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) on behalf of the five main industry players in Hong Kong. It was funded by HKECIA, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the recently opened Asia- World-Expo. The report showed that US$1.2 billion was made up of direct expenditure by exhibition organisers, exhibitors and visitors. Breaking this down further, 70 per cent (US$846 million) came from spending by visitors. The other 30 per cent (US$372 million) came from spending by event organisers and exhibitors. International visitors were responsible for most of the US$846 million visitor expenditure, spending US$654 million. The study estimated indirect expenditure in 2004 of US$731 million. This covered suppliers who purchased goods and services from elsewhere. The main beneficiaries of visitor expenditure from exhibitions were the food and beverage, hotel and retail sectors. The exhibition industry provided work equivalent to 47,000 full-time jobs across a number of related industries. HKECIA Chairman Stanley Chu said the report highlighted the importance of the industry to Hong Kong. "Our exhibition visitors stay 1.2 times longer than overnight tourists, but they spend nearly two and a half times as much," he said. "It's not difficult to see that the exhibition industry is contributing a great deal to keeping Hong Kong's economy moving forward." Chu said: "Recent initiatives taken by the Hong Kong exhibition industry are creating momentum. This is leading to continued growth in the number of visitors."