Asia tech summit RISE postponed to 2024 despite shorter quarantine period, while exhibition sector calls on Hong Kong government to further ease travel curbs

Organisers of a leading international tech conference in Hong Kong have postponed the event once again to 2024, citing coronavirus restrictions, while the exhibition sector has called on the government to further relax measures to ensure the city does not lose out to competing Asian hubs which have lifted entry curbs.

The Health Bureau on Tuesday said in a reply to the Post that it was aware that some exhibitions were purely for business activities and not open to the public, adding that it would consider if there was scope to further facilitate such events, while taking into account Covid-19 transmission risks and economic needs.

The annual RISE Conference was originally scheduled for next year, but organisers on Monday said the city’s travel restrictions had played a role in their decision to defer the in-person event made up of international delegates to March 2024, despite the hotel quarantine period being cut from seven days to three. Authorities have hinted at a further relaxation of measures in the coming months.

Katherine Farrell, a spokeswoman for conference organiser Web Summit who is based in the Irish capital Dublin, said the decision was due to “ongoing uncertainties” brought on by the pandemic, adding that organisers were working closely with the Hong Kong government.

When asked by the Post whether the recent shortening of the hotel quarantine period to three days, followed by four days of home medical surveillance with limited freedom of movement, was enough to hold the summit next year, Farrell said the city’s entry curbs had played a role in the decision to postpone the event again.

“As we host international technology events bringing founders from all over the world, the current travel restrictions to enter Hong Kong played a part in our decision to postpone RISE,” Farrell said in a statement, adding that the government had not offered quarantine exemptions for the summit.

Under Hong Kong’s latest travel arrangements, arrivals found to be infected are given a red health code, while those under four days of home medical surveillance receive an amber one. People with an amber code cannot enter certain premises such as exhibition and trade show venues, as well as restaurants and bars.

The exhibition sector, meanwhile, urged the government to lift travel restrictions “as soon as possible”, saying the shortened quarantine made “no difference” for the industry, as visitors could not attend events while under medical surveillance.

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Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management), a private firm responsible for day-to-day management of the facility, called on authorities to allow business travellers and overseas organisers, exhibitors and buyers with an amber code to attend international shows until travel rules were lifted if participants wore masks and maintained social distance.

A company spokeswoman said such events required time for planning and a “clear road map” for the city’s reopening was needed.

“Otherwise, Hong Kong’s exhibition industry will not be able to bounce back and Hong Kong will lose out to other competing Asian cities where travel restrictions have been completely lifted,” she warned, adding that four major international shows that were previously held in the city for years had already decided to switch locations to Dubai and Singapore for this year and 2023.

The number of exhibitions at the convention centre has fallen since 2020, as many were cancelled. Those that did take place were smaller in scale. From July 2018 to June 2019, 119 exhibitions were held, with the figure dropping to 62 in the year to June 2020 and to just 50 for the 12 months ending June 2021.

Health minister Lo Chung-mau on Saturday said authorities were reviewing the relaxed travel measures, and would look into allowing amber code holders to enter some types of premises, adding that he would make a decision based on scientific data. He has not set a time frame for the review.

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Hong Kong tourism sector legislator Perry Yiu Pak-leung said he would push for a further easing of measures.

“Persons with an amber code are allowed to take public transport to go to work or school, and enter shopping malls and supermarkets to obtain daily necessities,” he said, noting that they also had to take Covid-19 tests.

“The risk of attending an exhibition is no higher than that of entering these venues.”

Hong Kong has hosted the annual RISE Conference since its founding in 2015, but the event has been cancelled since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The further postponing of the tech conference came as a blow to the government, as it was only last week that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to fight for and poach global talent, as part of a renewed push for the city’s innovation and technology sector, with new initiatives to be revealed in his maiden policy blueprint in October.

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The tech conference was due to take place in Kuala Lumpur last year, but in a surprise move, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Web Summit announced that RISE would be held in Hong Kong for five years starting in March, as an in-person event promising 16,000 attendees, with visitors from more than 100 countries.

Past speakers have included executives from Uber and Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board said it understood the decision to reschedule the in-person conference to 2024.

For the bid, the tourism board teamed up with InvestHK and AsiaWorld-Expo, where the event was due to take place.

A spokeswoman for AsiaWorld-Expo said it continued to uphold Covid-19 protocol and that it respected the organisers’ decision on event scheduling with extensive support.