Text by MOOK Scenic Spots · Reported / ITE
More and more affluent outbound travelers from China are choosing Free Independent Travel (FIT)! Meanwhile, outbound travel in Hong Kong is mostly FIT, with high-end FIT travelers going abroad multiple times each year. For both current and future business, travel agencies and FIT travelers are equally important to overseas suppliers.
Hong Kong’s outbound travel market is large and of high quality ! In fact, Hong Kong’s total outbound tourism expenditure in 2016 was ranked as the world’s 10th largest source market by UNWTO. But in terms of per capita spending, Hong Kong ranks first among the top ten markets globally ! In 2017, Hong Kong’s total outbound tourism expenditure rose by 5.8% to reach USD 25.5 billion.
The annually held Hong Kong International Travel Expo “ITE” is Hong Kong’s only travel exhibition, and has been running for over 30 editions. ITE 2018’s two public days attracted over 90,000 visitors, and its survey collected more than 3,000 responses. It found that 84% prefer to travel as FIT / private groups, 63% of attendees are interested in purchasing travel products / joining tours on-site; 60% buy directly online from suppliers such as airlines and hotels; 19% are interested in joining local tours overseas; attendees have high education levels (42% hold a university degree or above and 34% have a college diploma); and nearly 60% travel three or more times a year !
The 2018 Hong Kong International Travel Expo had 12,460 buyers and professional visitors, including 6,580 from travel agencies and 2,567 from MICE / corporate sectors. Overall, 73% were from Hong Kong, 21% from Mainland China, with nearly 2,000 from cities within the Greater Bay Area. The exhibition is highly international, with 87% of its 666 exhibitors coming from overseas and Mainland China, including about 180 offering business MICE travel services. ITE focuses on various themed travel categories, holding promotions and seminars on different days, covering regional tourism industry players, exhibitors, and high-end FIT travelers !
The exhibition is organized by UBM Events (HK) Ltd., and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Tourism Board. ITE 2019, combining the 33rd International Travel Expo (Leisure) and the 14th Business & MICE Travel Expo, was held from June 13–16, 2019 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Halls 1A-1E.
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