Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival A Success
Officials in Hong Kong are celebrating the success of the 2020 Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival.
It was the first time the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) had adopted an “online + offline” format for the mega event, ensuring that the public could take part without worrying about the COVID-19 outbreak.
The event was held during the five consecutive weeks (Nov. 11 to Dec. 15) and the Festival had laid a full table of gastronomic experiences.
Meanwhile, the HKTB leveraged the event to promote and sustain Hong Kong’s exposure to visitor source markets.
The Online Masterclasses – a new “ingredient” of this year’s Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival – became a go-to program at home for many people during the COVID-19 outbreak.
A total of 34 classes were held during three weekends, generating almost 850,000 views. About 30% of the viewers came from the short- and long-haul markets, such as India, Taiwan, the UK, France, the US and Canada.
The most popular Online Masterclasses included the “Ah Yat Fried Rice” cooking demonstration by Forum Restaurant’s Executive Chef Adam Wong; the craft beer and artisan cheese pairing class by Young Master Brewery and Monsieur CHATTÉ; and “Art of Blending: When Johnnie Walker Meets Coffee” by world-class mixologist Antonio Lai and professional coffee barista Timmy Lam.
While all the Online Masterclasses were completed, the full videos are still available for free viewing on the event website — www.winedinefestival.discoverhongkong.com
Leveraging the Festival, the HKTB conducted promotions in the visitor source markets with a focus on enhancing Hong Kong’s image as a culinary capital.
It arranged a series of online wine-and-dine activities for nearly 100 journalists from the long- and short-haul markets, such as previews of the Online Masterclasses, a virtual dining culture guided tour, interviews and interaction with well-known Hong Kong chefs and wine critics.
Even though the international media could not be in Hong Kong physically, they could still learn about the city’s food culture and get the latest news about its dining scene.
Go to www.discoverhongkong.com for more.
