 
Companies worldwide are taking advantage of Hong Kong’s unique attractions for a huge variety of corporate events. No matter whether you are planning a mega event, a regional conference, a corporate meeting or an incentive trip, few destinations can match Hong Kong’s diversity of activities, sights and venues.
The experience and spirit of Hong Kong’s many tourism professionals will also guarantee that your event will be successful and a motivation booster for the attendees.
And don’t forget the Hong Kong Tourism Board is always ready to offer free advice on venues and social programmes, as well as a full range of marketing tools.
Case study – Fossil Inc When US-based Fossil Inc arranged its annual Asia Sales Conference in Hong Kong in 2006, it was the fifth year in a row that Fossil had chosen Hong Kong as the location.
“The annual sales conference is the most important event of the year for us and, as a destination, Hong Kong contributes a lot to our success. Ever since we began hosting the conferences here, we have seen a 50 per cent growth in sales per year,” says Mark Parker, senior vice president Asia.
Fossil offers an extensive line of fashion watches, sold under both its own house brands and a number of licensed brands, such as Adidas, Burberry, DKNY, Emporio Armani and Marc Jacobs.
“We bring in customers, brand managers and media representatives from all over Asia, as well as from Australia, Egypt, Germany and the US, so we need to be at a place which is very convenient to go to. There is no better alternative than Hong Kong, since it has direct flights to most cities where our guests come from and most of the flights are just a few hours. It also makes sense to arrange this conference in Hong Kong since we have our regional headquarters here and a majority of our products are manufactured in south China,” says Mr Parker.
Overwhelming response Fossil event managers said: “We also organised things to do for our guests in the evenings. In every sense, Hong Kong is a perfect destination. The city has a great infrastructure, excellent service levels, and a splendid variety of things to do for the guests when they are not working.”
The programme included a horse racing night at the Happy Valley racecourse, and the guests were also provided with a list of many free activities to choose between. Organising a conference for almost 200 people involves a lot of logistics. The planning takes about a year.
Perfect location Annemiek Ballesty (pictured above) is Dutch, but she has spent the last ten years in Sydney, Australia, where she is managing director of Fossil. She says she enjoys going to the annual conference in Hong Kong, which she has been doing since they got underway five years ago.
“It’s a perfect way of meeting with the staff from the regional office. We also have samples of all the products here, since they are produced on the other side of the border.”
Ms Ballesty says that Hong Kong is the place to be if you want to impress customers at exclusive restaurants and bars. She enjoys shopping, and is a frequent visitor to both Hong Kong’s brand boutiques and the Ladies’ Market in Mongkok. She says she also appreciates Chinese food, and is even partial to a spot of karaoke.
“I always bring some gifts home to my family and I have bought Chinese suits for my two small children. But now my six-year-old daughter has found out that Disneyland has opened in Hong Kong, and she puts pressure on me to bring her there. So next time, maybe the whole family will go,” says Ms Ballesty.
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