Over coffee with… Robert Rogers

The founder of International Live Events Association Hong Kong chapter tells Prudence Lui that the country’s government can do more to elevate the country’s special events industry

You’ve said that Hong Kong’s special events industry is an immature one. Why do you think so?

In Hong Kong, we do not enjoy the degree of quality government support that overseas markets do, especially those in Europe and the US. Such support is not just about financial handouts although it is a main part.Furthermore, these overseas markets have large groups of vendors like furniture-makers while here we have only two to three that are exhibitions-based.

In the past 10 years, there has been improvement in areas such as general awareness on professionalism, education on special events and respect for event professionals. But there is still room for improvement. For instance, there is a lack of in-depth understanding about the event flow. An emcee was asked to put the event on hold when a committee representative wanted a break. It disregarded the knock-on effects on F&B services and disrupted the work of the lighting technicians and audiovisual guys.

What is needed to bring the special events industry to the next level?

More marketing and research efforts are needed. For instance, the US-based Convention Industry Council and the International Live Events Association (ILEA) headquarters looked at how much money the meeting industry can generate across the US. Putting a figure on the industry’s value to the economy could really open doors. I hope we can do the same so people would start to realise it is such a huge industry with so many small companies working together to orchestrate big events.

Since the Hong Kong government has allocated a budget of HK$220 million (US$28.4 million) to boost tourism this fiscal year, let us hope that we can get extra funding from Meeting and Exhibition Hong Kong (MEHK) to carry out such a study.


RobertRWhat will influence the development of Hong Kong’s special events industry?

Better and deeper education is easily the most important factor. We’ve been trying to educate the business community here but many still don’t grasp the full potential of the special events industry. Continuing professional education is a small thing here and although ILEA has attempted to improve this, it doesn’t have the money for larger projects.

On the bright side, worldwide universities like City University and the Polytechnic University have been offering event management courses over the last decade. Much younger entrants are also discovering the market, bringing some great ideas and different styles. 

Is Hong Kong physically ready to support the growth of this niche industry?

We have been facing a shortage of venues for

Are there challenges in staging special events outdoors?

Well, yes. Currently you need separate licences from multiple government agencies (to do an event outdoors). It would be wonderful to have an individual or group with deep understanding of event processes working within the government that could actualise change. However, my concern with this is the government might then implement more rules and regulations, making it difficult to hold outdoor events. Currently, there are not many rules in place and those that exist are very ad hoc.

What kind of special events should Hong Kong aim to specialise in?

The Mega Event Fund commissioned a study to find out what events they could bring to Hong Kong, and that’s a great idea. But some events need to be created from within the community. Instead of finding out what events we can buy, it would be better to have more people with actual event experience to help make these decisions.



International Live Events Association was formerly known as the International Special Events Society. The rebranding, which was executed earlier in May, better reflects the association’s diverse membership and members’ involvement in live events.

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