Coronavirus: nearly half of Hong Kong’s convention, events sector could close if travel rules not eased, survey finds
- Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association releases report based on survey of members, calling for more subsidies by year-end
- Respondents urge quarantine-free travel for businesspeople, warning city could lose out to foreign competitors
Nearly half of Hong Kong’s exhibition and convention sector could face closure by the end of the year if authorities do not ease travel restrictions and roll out more subsidies, an industry survey has found.
The Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association, which released the report on Monday, urged the government to relax Covid-19 quarantine rules for eligible business travellers to attend events, conferences and conventions in the city.
It warned that 45 per cent of event organisers, contractors, freight forwarders, travel agents, audiovisual equipment suppliers and design houses could fold within a year if current control measures remained and no financial aid was provided by the end of 2021.
“The convention and exhibition industry, which contributed over HK$58 billion (US$7.5 billion) to Hong Kong’s economy in 2018, has been in deep water since February 2020 as no international event could be held in Hong Kong due to travel restrictions and preventive measures,” association chairman Stuart Bailey said.
In its survey, conducted in August on 60 members, the association found event organisers and industry players were facing losses totalling HK$50 million this year.
Despite keeping coronavirus cases at bay for months, health authorities have been adamant in maintaining a “zero-infection” policy in the hopes of reopening the border with mainland China.