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| Business hub of Asia draws high level players ( 01/01/2006 ) | |||||||||
The programme will see Hong Kong host international conferences of the highest level, underscoring its reputation as the business nexus of Asia. Both the award-winning Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo, the new exhibition centre at Hong Kong International Airport, have packed calendars for 2006, drawing events and exhibitions from around the world. (New mega venue off to a flying start) As a tourist destination, Hong Kong just gets better. The momentum of record tourist arrivals that featured throughout 2005 looks set to continue building this year with exciting developments in store for visitors. The major business coup of the year will see Hong Kong stage the international telecommunications industry's key global exhibition and forum, ITU Telecom World 2006. It is the first time the event's 35-year history that it will be held outside of Geneva. Hong Kong delivers The event is regarded as the Olympics of world telecommunications. Announcing Hong Kong as the successful host, International Telecommunication Union ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi cited the city's advantages. "Both Geneva and Hong Kong have made tremendous efforts to submit the most attractive offer for hosting the next ITU Telecom World event," Mr Utsumi said. Hong Kong was chosen as it "gives a clear and distinct advantage to both the event stakeholders and ITU", he said. ITU Telecom World brings top level telecoms players from both leading top-level telecoms players from both the public and private sectors, heads of state, ministers, regulators and CEOs of multinational corporations. To be staged in December at AsiaWorld-Expo, the new exhibition centre at Hong Kong International Airport, the event is expected to attract more than 100,000 overseas visitors to Hong Kong. AsiaWorld-Expo has also been successful in securing the prestigious China Sourcing fairs in April and October, which have previously been staged in Shanghai. The US organisers of the fairs will take over the venue's entire exhibition space of 70,000 square metres for both events. Now that the newly-opened AsiaWorld-Expo has the capacity to stage such mega-events, they can take advantage of Hong Kong's global connections and its convenient proximity to the Chinese mainland. Record tourism
New attractions set to open in 2006 include the Tung Chung cable car to the Big Buddha. Now known as Ngong Ping 360, this is destined to become one of Hong Kong's must do experiences. It includes a stunning 5.7km skyrail journey, visit to a cultural themed village and easy access to the world's largest, outdoor bronze Buddha statue. Hong Kong Wetland Park, an eco-friendly natural wonderland set in over 60 hectares of wetland reserve, is also set to open early in 2006. Galleries, a theatre, wetland cafe, swamp adventure and education centre will also enhance visitors' appreciation of the biodiversity of Hong Kong. The city's leading tourist icon, The Peak Tower, is also undergoing a revitalisation and due to open in February. Soon, in addition to enjoying the most spectacular views of Hong Kong, visitors can browse through the new festive market. This will complement existing attractions such as the Peak Tram, restaurants and Madame Tussaud's wax museum. The redevelopment of Ocean Park also begins this year, following the opening in 2005 of Hong Kong Disneyland. Utilising its spectacular waterfront location, Ocean Park is being redeveloped into one of the top sea mammal theme parks in the world. It will offer brand new adventures, state-of-the-art rides and three resort hotels. More than 70 attractions will be on offer when Ocean Park's makeover is completed in 2010. Related links | |||||||||
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