Global culture and business mindset; world-class infrastructure contribute to a flourishing MICE scene
Brought to you by Hong Kong Tourism Board
With a busy first quarter heralding an auspicious start for the business events scene, Hong Kong’s MICE sector is set for another successful year, with a stacked events calendar packed with returning and debut events.
The city has already secured 56 large-scale international events for the year, including 16 which will be hosted for the first time. The events, which include fintech, innovation and technology, medical sciences, and aviation among others, are expected to attract about 260,000 participants, with 170,000 from outside of Hong Kong.
These numbers are built on last year’s strong momentum when the city received 1.42 million overnight MICE visitors, a 10 per cent increase year-on-year. About half of these MICE visitors came from overseas, which was 23 per cent higher than overnight visitors staying for other purposes.
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), MICE visitors spend an average of HK$7,800 per capita, about 40 per cent higher than visitors of other categories.
“In 2025, Hong Kong not only will play host to prestigious high-yield business events but also stage a wide spectrum of mega art and culture, sports and entertainment events, especially with a number of newly developed tourism infrastructures, including the latest Kai Tak Sports Park. These events will definitely create the synergy of enriching the overall destination experiences for business events visitors, driving longer length of stay and delivering tremendous benefits to Hong Kong’s economy,” said Marilyn Tham, general manager, MICE & Cruise division, at HKTB.
A-list event, Economist Impact, returned on a bigger scale
March saw one of the busiest months for business events with a host of top tier international events.
For the second time in a row, Hong Kong hosted Economist Impact’s Technology for Change Asia event from March 12 to 13. The fifth edition of the show saw more than 70 renowned speakers share insights on future-shaping issues with more than 700 business and tech leaders from around the world.
Asif Chaudhury, managing director, Asia of The Economist Group, said: “The success of last year’s Technology for Change Asia has reinforced our recognition of Hong Kong’s strength as the world’s meeting place. We upgraded the scale of this year’s summit and saw a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in attendees.”
Connect Marketplace sets foodhold in Hong Kong for Asia expansion
Another renowned event was Connect Marketplace, an established international tourism show from the United States that chose Hong Kong as the destination to expand to. Held from March 19 to 21 at the AsiaWorld-Expo, Connect Marketplace Hong Kong saw more than 5,000 industry participants and 600 buyers from 14 countries and regions in Asia-Pacific.
Margaret Ma Connolly, president and CEO of Informa Markets in Asia, which organises the event, said: “With its unique blend of Chinese and Western cultures, status as a global business hub, world-class infrastructure and extensive experience in hosting large-scale international MICE events, Hong Kong is the ideal destination for Connect Marketplace’s expansion from North America to Asia.”
Inaugural events with strong debut in Hong Kong
Other landmark events held in February included the debut of Consensus Hong Kong 2025, a long-running cryptocurrency event that saw nearly 10,000 attendees, while the inauguration of Sports Law Mega Event 2025 highlighted Hong Kong’s strengths in spearheading sports law against the backdrop of the One Country, Two Systems and Three Jurisdictions principle.
Exciting roster of events ahead
If the first quarter of the year got the city buzzing with global visitors and established events, the rest of the year is set to be equally exciting.
As a result of HKTB’s efforts in cross-sector bids for regional and international events, Hong Kong will play host for the first time to 16 new events.
Among them are Herbalife Asia Pacific Extravaganza 2025 in May; International Society for Stem Cell Research 2025 Annual Meeting in June; Routes World 2025 in September, and 9th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery 2025 in December.
Want to host your event in Hong Kong? Contact HKTB at mehk@hktb.com and discover more at mehongkong.com. For Hong Kong’s latest MICE updates, please follow Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong’s LinkedIn page.
