Hong Kong Tourism Board partners Wego to target SEA tourists

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has teamed up with online travel marketplace Wego in a new destination marketing campaign this summer for travellers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. 

Launched under the theme "Summer Fun", the campaign will feature bundle promotion programmes to highlight "hidden spots" in the city for travellers to be "soul cool".

Wego said it has prepared 360 marketing activities while its online co-markeiting component includes a tailor-made series of promotional activities targeting young travellers and families. Meanwhile, the campaign also runs the gamut of content marketing, social media contests and influencer outreach. 

"Specifically, we hope to stimulate interest amongst travellers for the city’s halal offerings, family-friendly delights and cultural tourist avenues. We also encourage them to discover some of Hong Kong’s coolest neighborhoods like a local, to find the best places to shop, dine and sight-see," said Craig Hewitt, co-founder of Wego.

He shared that searches on Wego for Hong Kong increased by 43% since 2017; while HKTB's tourists arrival figures shared with Campaign Asia-Pacific earlier shows that total visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines increased by 2.8% in 2017, from 2.386 million in 2016 to 2.453 million 2017.

Overall, the number of tourists from Southeast Asia (including Singapore) visiting Hong Kong consistently exceed 3 million between 2016 and 2017. Its recent May statistics however show that tourists arrivals from Indonesia and Malaysia decreased by 16.9% and 12.6% y-o-y respectively while arrivals from Philippines increased by 1.1% y-o-y.

Hewitt believes tourists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Phillippines are "tech-savvy bargain hunters" who are eager for new travel experiences. HKTB will be releasing reality TV show Extreme End on Kix channel for the paid TV audience in key Southeast Asia markets by end of this year.