International fair on up market tavels for major Asian markets

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Rather unique in Asia, ITE & MICE succeeds in effectively combining a trade fair with a public fair, each with sufficient quantity of quality visitors!

Rather unique in Asia, ITE & MICE succeeds in effectively combining a trade fair with a public fair, each with sufficient quantity of quality visitors!

In 2014, it drew in its two trade days over 12,300 buyers and visitors (74% from Hong Kong & 19% from China and 7% other parts of Asia; 6,522 from travel agents & 2,588 from MICE), and in two public days 75,300 visitors (83% prefer FIT/tailor made tours).

Therefore, exhibitors can conduct channel and direct sale, and promoting to the travel trade and to the public/FIT in one stop! To many suppliers, it becomes equally important to reach out both to agents and travelers who now often make their own decisions!

Separate Programs for Trade and Public

Besides separate days, other measures are employed to effectively segregate trade and public visitors! Admission in trade day costs much more and visitors are required to present business card for registration. Only allowed or available in public days are retail sale, round the clock cultural performances and grand lucky draw etc.

There are separate programs for trade and public! Held only in trade day is Business Matching, where in one session 30 to 40 buyers meet same number of sellers. While the some 20 trade seminars, like EUROPE UPDATE for example, help agents plan new travel products, many of the some 100 public seminars are hosted by celebrity or travel writer on enjoying overseas holidays.

To facilitate audiences, seminars are often being held at purposely built rooms inside the exhibition halls. Seminars are promoted weeks before the Opening, externally through different media and partnering organizations and internally using different in-house data bases. Only trade seminars accept online pre-registration.

Public visitors love attending seminars too, with some attracting over 200 audiences! In fact, those interested in Attending Seminar (29.4%) far outnumber those in Onsite Booking (19.2%), which reflects well on the high visitor quality!

Results prove they have been effective not only in segregating trade and public and in better attracting visitors too!

Up Market & Theme Travels

Over 85% of its some 700 exhibitors are from abroad including about 100 tourism organizations from all over the world, and they come from around 50 countries and regions half of which outside Asia. In its 29th year, the travel fair is among Asiaโ€™s earliest and is the only of its kind in Hong Kong!

Besides destinations and travel products, trendy themes particularly attractive to up market travelers such as MICE and Cruise etc are also being promoted through seminars and special displays jointly held with related organizations.

Surveys by organizer revealed while interests of trade and public visitors converge in Wellness and Sport, they show significant differences` in Overseas Wedding and Travel Photography. Overall, popularity of theme travel continues growing fast!

Hong Kong an Important Source Market

Hong Kong, where the annual ITE & MICE is held, is within four hours flight from nearly all major cities in China, East and Southeast Asia. Hong Kong is also extensively and conveniently linked to cities of Guangdong and in fact some 10% of our buyers / trade visitors come from there.

At US$21 billion in 2013 and with only 7.2 million people, Hong Kong not only spends the most on overseas travel among all Chinaโ€™s provinces but also tops by per capita spending among the wealthy East Asia markets including Japan and South Korea!

In fact, the city ranked 15th in the world by international tourism expenditure in 2013, is certainly a significant source market. Moreover, Hong Kong citizens can visit over 140 countries / regions, including EU, without visa. Though now part of China, English remains an official language and continue to be widely spok

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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