HKECIA urges HKSAR Government to provide immediate assistance

Hong Kong, 6th September: The Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) conducted a member survey, “Impact of Covid-19 to Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry 2021” in August, with results indicating that 45% of industry players may close down in the next 12 months. Due to the dire situation, the HKECIA urged the government to repurpose the Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme and to provide a roadmap for relaxing compulsory quarantine requirements for qualified business travellers.

The Subsidy Scheme under the HKSAR Anti-epidemic Fund subsidises 100% of the venue rental for private organisers of exhibitions and international conventions held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) up till June 2022. Due to travel restrictions and compulsory quarantine requirements, organisers of international trade fairs and conferences were unable to recruit overseas exhibitors and buyers to participate in their events. With many organisers needing to cancel or postpone their events until 2022, a significant number of them will not be able to benefit from the existing Subsidy Scheme.