Total Metreage Sold Surges by Over 20% for 2 Consecutive Years
About 100 New EXPOtainment Events First Hosted At Venue
AsiaWorld-Expo Wins Industry Recognition & International Acclaim Named Top Three ‘Best Convention / Exhibition Centre’ in Asia
(Hong Kong, 20 December 2012) AsiaWorld-Expo – ASIA TODAY - Asia’s leading exhibition, convention and events venue – has delivered another year of excellent business performance in 2012 following the strong business growth recorded in the preceding year. The total metreage sold in 2012 was over 20 million square feet, up over 20% from 2011, and this was also the second consecutive year of recording a growth rate of more than 20%. In addition, about 100 brand new large-scale EXPOtainment events were hosted at the venue this year, a number of which were first launched in Hong Kong, including large international and regional exhibitions and conferences, corporate banquets, concerts and other EXPOtainment events. With its excellent business performance and branding effect, AsiaWorld-Expo was also named one of the Top Three ‘Best Convention / Exhibition Centres’ in Asia at the renowned CEI Asia Industry Awards for the second consecutive year.
Mr Allen Ha, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaWorld-Expo Management Limited, said, “AsiaWorld-Expo has achieved outstanding business performance this year and has won industry recognition and international acclaim again. The success is mainly attributable to the recognition of our brand from various sectors. The use of social media has also successfully made the culture of EXPOtainment become increasingly popular, particularly for the young generation. Moreover, the rising number of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme in recent years has also contributed to our strong business growth. The percentage of Mainland visitors to AsiaWorld-Expo has surged from 20% in 2006 to 34% in 2010.”
Apart from the numerous accolades received from the industry and the international acclaim, the brand of AsiaWorld-Expo has been well-established within the industry and the international and Asian political arena. Mr Ha was recently invited to the 9th Korea International Exhibition Forum in Seoul, Korea, to share with industry representatives from around the world the successful change and experience of AsiaWorld-Expo and the development of Hong Kong’s exhibition and convention industry. Besides, a delegation from the Gyeonggido Parliament of Korea also pays a visit to AsiaWorld-Expo today to know more about the successful experience of the venue and to exchange views on the industry development between Hong Kong and Korea.
Mr Kenny Chow, Managing Director of G Music (HK) Ltd, one of the major promoters for K-pop concerts in Hong Kong, said that, according to the findings of an online survey and feedbacks on forum about the venue for K-pop concerts, over 90% of respondents selected AsiaWorld-Expo as their most favourite venue for K-pop activities. They viewed that AsiaWorld-Expo is the first choice for large-scale world-class entertainment activities in terms of positioning, branding effect and venue facilities.
In fact, the K-pop culture has been spreading across the world in recent years. AsiaWorld-Expo has now become a top pick for experiencing K-pop culture in Hong Kong and a hot spot for youngsters to “follow their idols”. K-pop stars first gave concerts at AsiaWorld-Expo in 2007 and created a real buzz at that time. K-pop singers came again to give their concerts in 2009 when K-pop culture was becoming a hit. Many popular singers and groups also select AsiaWorld-Expo as their first choice to give their performances. Dozens of K-pop singers and groups performed at AsiaWorld-Expo this year and there was a “ticket fever” in the city with teenagers queuing up overnight to buy tickets. Tickets for super hit boys band Big Bang’s concerts held earlier this month were sold out within only a few hours.
Mr Allen Ha said, “AsiaWorld-Expo has become a first mover and an icon of trends, particularly of K-pop culture in Hong Kong. K-pop audiences of AsiaWorld-Expo are of different age groups, but most are from the young generation and those who are young at heart. It is expected that more and more K-pop singers and groups will give their concerts and organize other activities at AsiaWorld-Expo and there will surely be a new vogue in Hong Kong.”
In recent years, many Korean activities were organized at AsiaWorld-Expo. Apart from large-scale exhibitions on new products from Korea, there are on average K-pop activities every month and most of them are concerts. The number of K-pop visitors to AsiaWorld-Expo surges significantly. Tickets sold for K-pop stars’ activities increased substantially by over 13 times from approximately 6,000 tickets several years ago to about 100,000 tickets in 2012. In addition, many popular groups from Korea will continue to give their concerts at AsiaWorld-Expo in 2013, including K-pop boys bands TVXQ & Beast and K-pop girls groups A Pink & 4 Minute among others.
Regarding the new EXPOtainment events this year, Mr Allen Ha said, “Some of these EXPOtainment events are totally brand new to Hong Kong. This reflects that AsiaWorld-Expo is not only a favourite venue for both event planners and event organizers, but also an ideal platform for holding large-scale activities of all kinds.”
Apart from the large-scale EXPOtainment events hosted at AsiaWorld-Expo for many years, such as the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, the largest of its kind in the world, and a series of Global Sourcing Fairs, the about-100 new EXPOtainment events hosted at AsiaWorld-Expo include ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA (which broke its record in terms of scale), Vitafoods Asia, Nu Skin Greater China Regional Convention (which attracted over 20,000 participants), international superstar Lady Gaga’s concerts, Queen of Latin Dance Jennifer Lopez’s concert, concerts of many famous K-pop singers and groups including super hit boys bands Big Bang and SHINee, as well as world-class circus show Saltimbanco, etc, which brought enjoyable and amusing time for audiences.
As for 2013, AsiaWorld-Expo will again bring many world-class large-scale EXPOtainment events that are brand new to Hong Kong, including a line-up of sport extravaganzas. For instance, Longines Hong Kong Masters (28 February to 2 March 2013), the only 5-star accredited equestrian competition in Asia, and BNP Paribas Tennis Showdown – Hong Kong (4 March 2013), the contests between world champions. Besides, a number of new large-scale international trade shows and conferences are to be held at AsiaWorld-Expo next year, including GEEE! (Global Electronic Entertainment Expo), China New Energy Vehicle Show 2013, Independent Healthcare Living Conference and Expo, Asia-Pacific Association for International Education 2013 Conference and Exhibition, Airline Retail Conference, USANA Asia Pacific Convention 2013, LINC Asia-Pacific 2013 and Future Travel Experience Asia 2013.
For further details about AsiaWorld-Expo and its market-leading facilities, please visit the website at http://www.asiaworld-expo.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sherry No / Candy Kwok
Tel: (852) 3606 8888 / (852) 6463 0233 (Candy Kwok)
Fax: (852) 3606 8889
Email: sn@asiaworld-expo.com / ck@asiaworld-expo.com
Website: www.asiaworld-expo.com