Hong Kong’s surprisingly healthy hotels

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Hong Kong, 11th April: Despite so much the concern about Hong Kong’s future and a weak post-COVID economy, its hotels appear to be performing surprisingly well. According to the Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA), the industry is still recovery, but in 2023, Hong Kong’s average room occupancy was 82%. That is quite impressive, especially given that 2018 was an all-time record high at 91% in 2018. Moreover, during the 2024 Lunar New Year holiday, Hong Kong’s average hotel occupancy rate was 93% which is about the same level as the 2019 Lunar New Year holiday.

High-end hotels performed better than the mid-range and budget categories due to the changing travel pattern of Chinese visitors and unfortunately, the government announced in its 2024-25 budget, the 3% hotel accommodation tax will return from 1st January 2025. The HKHA worries this could dampen performance, but that is unlikely to affect to mid- to high-end hotels.

RELX expects strong growth in 2024

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London, 25th April: Yesterday, London-listed RELX Group plc released its latest trading update, and management reaffirmed the outlook for the full year.

Its exhibitions business, which accounted for 12% of the company’s revenue in 2023, the group is expected to deliver strong underlying revenue growth this year. Management highlighted increased “face-to-face activity” across all of the group’s key geographies. In addition, growth will also be supported by the rising use of a “growing range of value-enhancing digital tools.”

Meorient’s profit jumps nearly 350% in Q1

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Hangzhou, 26th April: Shenzhen-listed exhibition organiser, Meorient released its results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024. Meorient organises trade shows that aim to bring Chinese businesses overseas – particularly to emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and South America.

Meorient generated revenues of US$11 million, an increase of 12% year-on-year. The company’s profit in the quarter jumped 349%, compared with the same quarter last year, reaching US$667,000. Diluted earnings per share in the three-month period were RMB 0.03 (US$0.0042). The company’s management did not comment on the growth drivers or the company’s outlook for the rest of the year.

Quick takes

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JEGI outlines AI’s impact on exhibitions

JEGI, a boutique investment bank, has released a 25-page white paper on the coming impact of AI on a number of industries including exhibitions. Areas of change: lead generation, task automation and tailored event experiences. See page 16.

Newsletters are alive and thriving?

The newsletter, the dinosaur of marketing tools, is surprisingly and persistently effective. It is not all good news, but DigiDay offers this fascinating article on just how cheap and effective newsletters can be.

Beijing continues to push Hainan as free trade zone

For years, Beijing has been promoting Hainan Island as a duty-free shopping and free trade zone. According to the Exhibition World article, it might be working as reflected in its consumer products exhibition which featured 4,000 brands spread across 128,000 m2, according to the government organiser.

UFI MEA Conference goes to Kigali

UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, organised its UFI Middle East & Africa Conference to Rwanda earlier this month. Hosted by the Rwanda Convention Bureau at the Kigali Convention Centre, the event was held from 15th to 17th April, bringing together attendees from 15 countries.