Hong Kong's exhibition industry is soaring

HKECIA urges the government to extend support to help the exhibition industry address challenges resulted from tariff war.

The Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) has released its latest annual exhibition survey, which acts as an important barometer of the performance of the industry. Covering the calendar year 2024, the survey provides details of the continuous rebound momentum of the exhibition activities in Hong Kong post-pandemic. Hong Kong hosted 121 large-scale exhibitions (i.e. those occupying over 2,000 sqm of floor space). Of these, “Trade” or “Trade and Consumer” recorded a 9.6% increase over the number from 2023.

Speech by Guest of Honour, Dr Bernard Chan, JP, Acting Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at the HKECIA annual dinner held on 30 May 2025.

Of the 121 large-scale exhibitions, 80 were “Trade” and “Trade and Consumer” exhibitions

and represented the focus of the survey. That number is up from 73 in 2023, reflecting the

continuous progress of recovery of Hong Kong’s exhibition industry after the pandemic.

Attendee numbers at these exhibitions increased year-on-year, with the number of exhibiting companies rising by 13.9%, from over 45,000 to nearly 52,000, while the number of visitors increased by 4.5% to over 1.46 million. However, the exhibitor space rented by exhibitors decreased by 6.8% to nearly 830,000 sqm.

Commenting on the survey results, Chairman of the HKECIA Mr Stuart Bailey (picture above) said, “The past year has seen both achievements and challenges for our industry. The growth in exhibiting companies and visitors in 2024 reflects the resilience of Hong Kong’s exhibition industry and the effectiveness of proactive and aggressive exhibitor and visitor recruitment in the face of a difficult economic outlook. Despite the progress made, challenges remain. The decline in exhibitor space rented was a sign that companies scaled back spending due to global economic uncertainty.”

Owing to various factors affecting global and regional economic recovery, Hong Kong’s

exhibition industry has not fully recovered. When the 2024 survey figures are placed against

the pre-COVID figures for 2019, the total number of exhibitions has recovered to pre-COVID

level, while exhibiting company and visitor participation lags behind 2019 figures by 25.1%

and 21.3%, respectively.

The HKECIA Executive Committee members, Guest of Honour and Past Chairmen at the HKECIA annual dinner held on 30 May 2025.

Among all categories, the number of visitors from the Mainland attending “Trade’ and Trade

and Consumer” exhibitions in Hong Kong in 2024 shows the encouraging recovery pace,

growing by 21% from 2023 and surpassing 2019 level by 9.2%.

“We are fortunate to have strong government support, such as the Incentive Scheme for

Recurrent Exhibitions (ISRE), which has been instrumental in mitigating financial pressures

for organisers,” said Mr Bailey. “The survey results show that Hong Kong’s exhibition industry needs support from the government during this challenging and volatile time to maintain its hard-earned status as the Trade Fair Capital of Asia. The upcoming ISRE 2.0, launching in July, will extend funding to additional venues, i.e. the Central Harbourfront Event Space and West Kowloon Cultural District. These measures reflect the government’s commitment to our industry. Trade activities and exhibitions are undoubtedly affected by the tariff war. The volume of merchandise trade globally is likely to fall in 2025. Our industry strongly urges an extension of the scheme beyond 2026 and further collaboration to develop new initiatives that address the unique challenges we face.”

Group photo of all participants of the at the HKECIA annual dinner held on 30 May 2025.

The Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association

The Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) was established in 1990 to promote Hong Kong as a world-class exhibition and conference destination and the trade fair capital of Asia Pacific. It works to represent the interests of all members involved in the exhibition and convention industries, and provides a unified voice in dealing with the government, legislative and statutory bodies, the media and public organisations, on all matters associate with the role of the exhibition and convention industry in Hong Kong’s economy. In addition, it offers training and educational programmes, and collects, analyses and distributes information and statistics relating to the industry. Currently, HKECIA has 100 members including exhibition organisers, venue managers and operators, contractors, hotels, and travel agents.

The HKECIA is a member of UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and

AFECA – The Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations.