Strategy Review: Exhibition and Convention Venue Space in Hong Kong (Events)

Background

We were engaged by the Hong Kong Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to develop a strategy review of the demand for convention and exhibition facilities in Hong Kong in the next 15 years.

Key questions

• What is the size and the key characteristics of the global, regional, local exhibition and convention market?
• What is the scale and economic loss of currently unmet demand for exhibition vs. conventions in HK?
• What are potential policy options for satisfying the unmet demand?
• What would be the economic impact of implementing the proposed measures?

Highlights of AMR methodology

• We used regional forecasts of real GDP to first conduct regional forecasts for the convention & exhibition (C&E) industries and then aggregated these for the global C&E industries forecast
• We also quantified current and future average unmet demand in Hong Kong per day, using a range of data inputs from stakeholders

Results

We quantified the current and future unmet demand for venue space and provided recommendations to the Government on how to address the issue

Review of the global and regional conventions and exhibitions industries

• An essential part of the project was our presentation of the industry fundamentals to the HK Government
• We estimated the size and long term 15-year growth outlook of the C&E industries globally and by region
• We defined the underlying macroeconomic drivers and provided an “Event of the future” framework and potential implications for venue owners

Assessment of the Hong Kong C&E industries

• We provided an overview of Hong Kong’s C&E industry, including market size and historic development, definition of major segments, overview of leading organizers and analysis of current venue supply
• Furthermore, we assessed Hong Kong’s competitive positioning in the wider APAC region and benchmarked its attractiveness against its main competitors, including regional inventory and occupancy map.

Assessment of unmet demand for C&E facilities in Hong Kong

• We estimated current addressed, pent-up and forecast demand for venue space
• We defined the format of events that will drive growth (exhibitions large vs. small, conventions, etc.)
• The team also assisted the development of an economic impact assessment model for estimating the economic loss of taking no action to address unmet demand

Review of potential policy options and recommendations

• Our team recommended policy options for maximizing utilization and capturing unmet demand in the short and mid-term and venue space expansion options in the mid and long-term
• We estimated the potential economic benefit from the implementation of each of the recommended policy options, incl. the expansion scenarios
• We also developed a framework to assist the Government in prioritizing and selecting the most feasible policy options, including aspects such as the ability to capture unmet demand, the capability to implement and the ability for the Government to intervene; along with risks and constraints, estimated economic benefit, and relative cost (qualitative assessment)

For more information please contact:

Florent Jarry

Managing Director

fjarry@stax.com
mailto:florent.jarry@amrinternational.com mailto:florent.jarry@amrinternational.com

Denzil Rankine

Managing Director

drankine@stax.com