Press Release
21-Sep-2015
ITE & MICE Hong Kong
Public Visitors to spend more on Travel in coming Year
The annual survey this year on public visitors of ITE & MICE, Hong
Kong’s only travel fair, found an overwhelming 70% of the respondents
will SPEND MORE on travel in the coming twelve months, 11 times
more than the 6% who said NO while the remaining 23% chose NOT
SURE!
The survey was conducted around and during ITE & MICE and
collected 4359 effective replies online and 800 onsite. Held in June each
year, ITE & MICE 2015 drew 11874 regional buyers and visitors in two
trade days and another 78116 visitors in two public days.
Public Visitors are Mature, Well Educated and Travel Frequently
Among the respondents, female outnumbers male by three to two,
and those between “15 and 34 years old” and “35 and 64” respectively
account for 38% and 57%.
They travel a lot too! Among them, 15% made five or more overnight
holidays in past year, 35% made three to four trips, 29% made two trips,
17% made one trip and only 3.1% did not take any such holiday. Also, over
33% flied four times or more in the past twelve months.
When asked destination of their longest holiday in past twelve
months which can result in under-estimation of following frequencies, 51%
went to East and Northeast Asia; 16% to Europe, Africa, Middle East,
Central and West Asia; 13% to South and Southeast Asia; 10% to mainland
China and Macau; and 8% to Oceania and the Americas.
Around 45% reported education at university level or above, 24%
post-secondary. Their main purposes of visiting ITE & MICE are
respectively “Planning holiday” at 83%; “Purchase products / book tours”
at 37%, and “attending seminars” at 25%. Public days of the travel fair
therefore offer great opportunities for immediate and future business!
Will spend more on travel in the
coming year?
Spend more
70%
Not sure
23%
No
6%
Gender
Female
60%
Male
40%
Age
15-34 yrs old
35-64 yrs old
38%
57%
No. of overnight leisure trips
made in past year
Over 5 trips
15%
3 – 4 trips
35%
2 trips
29%
1 trip
17%
Destination of their longest
holiday in past twelve months
E & NE Asia
Europe/Africa/
Middle East / C & W
Asia
S / SE Asia
China / Macau
Oceania / Americas
Education
University or above
Post-secondary
Secondary or below
51%
16%
13%
10%
8%
45%
24%
31%
How They Like to Travel
Conditions of Hong Kong favor FIT! Over 140 international
destinations offer visa free visit to Hong Kong passport holders. The city
has a high average per capita income, English is widely spoken and many
Hongkongers are experienced travelers.
Travel Preference
The survey indeed found majority prefer traveling in FIT! Over 80 %,
including those taking air + hotel package, chose FIT, 4.8% in tailored
made tour, and only 14.6% of respondents prefer joining package tour!
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FIT / Ticket + Hotel
Private Tour Group
Package Tour
80.6%
4.8%
14.6
Findings suggest travel agents are getting good chunk of FIT business
as 40% of the respondents booked with agents. But online bookings, which
include directly with airlines and through portals etc, are popular as some
72% of respondents reported having done that.
How they book?
Through travel agents
Booking online
40%
72%
In-Depth & Theme Travel Popular
Travel themes are popular nowadays, as 65% of the respondents
chose two or more travel themes of interest! Over 50% interested in Travel
Photography, while percentages of interest on Cruise, Driving Tour, Study
Tour, Eco-tourism and Sport Tourism range between 25 to 35%.
At another level of interest are themes like Wellness & Medical
Tourism and Overseas Wedding & Honeymoon (HOW), respectively at
11% and 13%. Likely, the lower interest level can best be explained by the
fact that they are of interest only to those related such as young couples
planning for marriage.
Public visitor’s interest
Travel Photography
50%
Eco-tourism
35%
Driving Tour
34%
Sport Tourism
29%
Cruise
25%
Overseas Wedding
13%
Wellness & Medical 11%
Interestingly, a significantly higher 24% of trade visitors interested
in HOW in another survey, rightly so as an overseas wedding involves
group of the marrying couples and guests. But in general, interest levels on
various travel themes of trade visitors parallel those of the public visitors.
ITE & MICE pioneers the highlighting of travel themes in trade fair in
Asia.
The next ITE & MICE, a co-location of the 30th ITE and the 11th ITE MICE, will be held from
June 16 to 19, 2016 at Halls 1A to 1E of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Organized by TKS Exhibition Services Ltd, ITE & MICE is supported by China National Tourism
Administration, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, Macau
Government Tourist Office, organizations and associations of travel trade and event industry in the
region. For details, please visit www.itehk.com or contact the organizer, TKS via email
travel@tkshk.com.
###
Issued by:
TKS Exhibition Services Ltd |Unit 3703B, 148 Electric Road, North Point, Hong Kong.
Tel: (852) 3155 0600 | Fax: (852) 3520 1500 | Email: travel@tkshk.com
Trade Website: www.itehk.com | Public Website: www.travelexpo.com.hk
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