Nearly 1 million visitors flock to Hong Kong Book Fair

Jul 26, 2023 | Business

The 33rd HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair, 6th Sports and Leisure Expo, and 3rd World of Snacks, all organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), drew to a successful close today. The seven-day event attracted nearly one million visitors, of which 10% were tourists. Book Fair visitors spent an average of HK$872 (US$112) per person. Close to 780 exhibitors from 36 countries and regions participated in the three events, offering the public a diverse and extraordinary summer experience.

The 33rd HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair, 6th Sports and Leisure Expo, and 3rd World of Snacks drew one million visitors in total

Sophia Chong, Acting Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: “We are thrilled to announce the resounding success of this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair, Sports and Leisure Expo, and World of Snacks. The full reopening of Hong Kong has resulted in a surge in participation from citizens and tourists alike, with numerous mainland and overseas authors and exhibitors attending in person. The government’s distribution of consumption vouchers has also fueled citizens’ eagerness to spend at the three exhibitions, contributing to the vibrant and lively ambience of the events. This year’s Book Fair, with its focus on Children’s and Young Adult Literature, has staged a diverse range of cultural activities and seminars. Thanks to the sponsorship of Create Hong Kong* (CreateHK) of the Government of the HKSAR, we have established a brand new World of Art & Culture zone, with the aim of introducing literature and cultural arts from all over the world to a broad reader base. Our ultimate goal is to promote a city-wide reading culture and position Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.”

Fiction, comics, travel, children’s books and literature most popular genres

Over 800 visitors were interviewed by a research institute commissioned by the HKTDC to glean insights into their reading and spending habits. Respondents spent an average HK$872 at the fair this year, the survey showed. Remarkably, this comprised 70% of their HK$1,254 average annual expenditure on printed books. These findings underscore the Book Fair’s pivotal role as a platform for book enthusiasts to acquire their beloved reads.

The survey also shed light on respondents’ reading habits, revealing that an overwhelming 96% had read printed books within the past month, with an average reading time of 16 hours. Fiction emerged as the most popular book category, with 52% of respondents indicating their interest, followed by comics (26%), travel (20%), children’s and young-adult books (20%), and literature (19%). The categories of self-improvement, enrichment, art and music, and inspirational books also garnered significant interest. E-books were also popular, with 65% of respondents having read e-books within the past month, averaging nine hours of reading time during that period. Most respondents (59%) visited the Book Fair to buy new books, while 49% enjoyed discounts offered at the fair. Additionally, 25% joined the diverse cultural activities, with 18% intending to buy children’s books.

Cultural July events continue with fair highlights available for viewing

The fair featured more than 600 seminars and cultural events held both onsite and offsite, including the Eight Seminar Series. Running in parallel the Cultural July: Joyful Summer Reading campaign, held across Hong Kong, drew more than 350,000 participants.

Recordings of selected seminars are available online. Readers can revisit them through the Book Fair website or the HKTDC’s Youtube channel. This year’s Book Fair has concluded but Cultural July continues until 31 July, with a range of sharing sessions, talks and book launches in all 18 districts of Hong Kong. Details can be found on the Cultural July website – http://www.hkbookfair.hktdc.com/CulturalJuly

The Cultural Journey Online is also available on the Book Fair website, gathering e-reading resources and activities like virtual seminars and exhibitions from our partners which include: SHKP Reading Club’s Read For More, Hong Kong Public libraries, Culture is…, Google Arts & Culture, encouraging citizens to expand their horizons and promoting a reading culture.

Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks well received

Offering a wide selection of sports and leisure products and services, along with more than 1,200 tasty treats and snacks, the Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks are also concluded today. The former featured free trials and interactive experiences while the latter offered visitors delicacies from around the world, along with workshops, activities and tasting sessions. Both events were enthusiastically received.

The three events launched the series of HKTDC exhibitions in the second-half of this year. In the coming months, the HKTDC will continue to host a diverse range of large-scale exhibitions to support and strengthen Hong Kong’s economy across different sectors. Next month, visitors can expect to enjoy the Food Expo, Food Expo Pro, Home Delights Expo, Beauty & Wellness Expo, and Hong Kong International Tea Fair. September will bring CENTRESTAGE and Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, as well as the Belt and Road Summit, while October is set to feature the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition), Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition), and Eco Expo Asia. In November, the HKTDC will host the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair, Hong Kong International Optical Fair, and Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference. Finally, December will feature the Business of IP Asia Forum and Chill 11.

*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

Photo Download: https://bit.ly/3DrR5AI
Book Fair video playlist: https://bit.ly/3Q580Ay

About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn

Media enquiries
Should members of the press have any enquiries, please contact:

Hong Kong Book Fair
Yuan Tung Financial Relations:
Anson Wong, Tel: +852 3428 3413, Email: awong@yuantung.com.hk
Salina Cheng, Tel: +852 3428 5691, Email: salcheng@yuantung.com.hk
Agnes Yiu, Tel: +852 3428 5690, Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Katy Wong, Tel: +852 2584 4524, Email: katy.ky.wong@hktdc.org
Clayton Lauw, Tel: +852 2584 4472, Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org
Sunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo, World of Snacks
HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Kate Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: kate.hy.chan@hktdc.org


Topic: Press release summary

Nearly 7 in 10 Brits believe drones will positively impact their future

Nov 23, 2021 | Business

New research from the BT and Altitude Angel-led “Project XCelerate” Consortium[1] has found over two thirds (68%) of the British public believe drones will have a positive impact on their life in the future, with almost half (49%) saying they are optimistic or excited about the potential drone technology holds.

The public is most positive about the impact drones can have on society for the greater good. Research found that 49% want to see drones used for risky jobs in place of people, such as firefighting (76%) and inspecting infrastructure (70%), while two in five were keen to see drones extending human capabilities and reaching otherwise inaccessible areas (42%), such as tracking criminals (65%) or investigating crime scenes (73%).

Human safety was particularly important to the over 65s, who agreed it was the biggest benefit of drone use, while the environmental benefits of drones were deemed equally important to human safety by the under 30s (36%) to support reduction in air pollution.

Despite this positivity surrounding this emerging technology, 38% of people still have concerns about drone use in the UK. Almost half of all adults said drone misuse (46%) and public safety, along with privacy (48%) around personal data and private property, were their main worries. Much of this concern could stem from some public misconceptions, with 47% of Brits believing drone usage remains unregulated, when in fact, strict regulations for drone operating are in place across the UK and continue to be developed and implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority as usage expands.

The report comes as part of Project XCelerate’s wider work on the UK Government’s Future Flight Programme and will be used to identify how the consortium will work to overcome some of the challenges around the public acceptance of drones.

Dave Pankhurst, Head of drone solutions at BT, said: “It’s encouraging to see that broadly the public recognise the future opportunities of drone technology, and the positive impact drones can have on society through providing potentially life-saving services. But the findings also highlight the need to better inform the public to help address any concerns they might have around the acceleration of drones in our everyday lives.

“To unlock the potential of drones, close collaboration with a number of key stakeholders, from the public, government, regulators, and the industry is needed. Through Project XCelerate we aim to help contribute to safely opening up the skies, creating new opportunities for the future of drone flight.”

Richard Parker, Altitude Angel CEO and founder, added: “We’re seeing drones save lives and change the way we live and work on an almost daily basis. The technology we’re developing and deploying with partners, like BT, will be the foundation on which the UK builds and enables its drone economy.”

Project XCelerate will demonstrate how drones can support ground-breaking use cases such as search and rescue missions, infrastructure inspection, and even the delivery of medical supplies to help improve access to healthcare in remote communities. By demonstrating the positive impact of drones through real world use cases, the project aims to help influence existing airspace restrictions to safely unlock the potential of drone technology.

Note to editors

Research conducted on behalf of BT and Project XCelerate by Strive Insight during 2021 of 2000 UK nationally representative respondents. The full report, The Future of Flight: Public attitudes towards the increasing use of drone technology in the UK, can be found here.  

About Project XCelerate

BT, together with Altitude Angel and a number of UK tech start-ups, have been selected by UK Research and Innovation to deliver a Future Flight Challenge project called Project XCelerate. The consortium plans to establish a commercial drone zone in open and unrestricted airspace, located south of Reading, Berkshire. Joining BT, the consortium includes drone technology experts from Altitude Angel, Dronecloud, HEROTECH8 and Skyports, cyber-security provider Angoka, and end user experts SkyBound Rescuer and DroneStream. For more information, visit: www.bt.com/business/drone-solutions

[1] “Project XCelerate” is a BT led Future Flight Challenge project, backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

About BT

BT Group is the UK’s leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.

For the year ended 31 March 2021, BT Group’s reported revenue was £21,331m with reported profit before taxation of £1,804m.

British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
 

Nearly 11.57 Lakh farmers benefitted through paddy procurement in KMS 2021-22

Nov 9, 2021 | Business

The Department of Food and Public Distribution under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has procured over 209.52 LMT of Paddy in KMS 2021-22 till 08.11.2021 in the procuring States/UTs of Chandigarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Telangana, Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

As a result of which about 11.57 Lakh farmers have been benefitted with MSP value of Rs. 41,066.80 crore.

The paddy procurement is progressing smoothly in Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22 at MSP from farmers, as was done in previous years.

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(Release ID: 1770265)
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