Hong-Kong MICE industry on the up
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Overnight MICE arrivals to Hong Kong increased 10.3% in the first six months of the year. The results were release today by the Hong Kong Tourism Board which registered 725,779 overnight MICE arrivals January to June. During this period, numerous large-scale conventions and exhibitions with record-breaking numbers of participants were held, helping to drive the growth of overall MICE arrivals.Of the total overnighters, 42.8% of these visitors came from mainland China, marking a 15%-increase compared to the same period last year. Increased demand for this kind of travel was attributed to growth of the Mainland economy.Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s second largest source of MICE travellers, South and Southeast Asia, recorded an 11% increase in overnight MICE arrivals during the first half of the year. The fastest growing market, ad the smallest in real terms, among MICE visitors staying overnight was Australia and New Zealand. Attracted by major medical conferences, regional visits tallied 27,496, up 17.3% on H1 2010. HKTB Executive Director Mr Anthony Lau said: “We foresee that overnight MICE arrivals will continue to grow in the second half of this year. One of the factors to foster this upward trend is the staging of some large-scale conventions and exhibitions.”In addition, sustained growth of the Mainland economy and exchange rates favourable to major currencies against the Hong Kong dollar are going to bring more meetings and incentive travel activities to Hong Kong, especially from the Mainland and other short-haul markets.”
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