HK's Wine & Dine festival sees over 155,000 visitors, 10% increase from last year

Hong Kong’s annual gastronomic highlight of the town “Wine & Dine Festival” has seen around 155,000 locals and visitors, a 10% increase from the last edition.  

Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the event received a high level of satisfaction, scoring nine points out of 10. The surveyed guests agreed that the event was a signature event of Hong Kong that could not be missed.  

Participating merchants also commented that the event did a great job in encouraging consumption, and that business was better than expected, according to HKTB.  

During the five-day festival, Hong Kong also welcomed three international cruise liners, whose passengers were interested in checking out the festival and joined the event’s exclusive wine-tasting and pairing experiences organised by HKTB. 

Some American cruise visitors, in particular, sang praises about the Festival’s incredible experiences and activities and were highly satisfied with the quality of the food and drink offerings. Many KOLs from Mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu visited the event and shared their experiences online with their followers.

This year’s Festival boasted over 300 booths with food and drink offerings from 35 countries and regions. A pavilion selling Japanese sake said that Japanese sake has gradually amassed fans among Korean consumers, and that their booths attracted quite a number of Korean tourists this year.  

The exhibitor noted that many guests bought an average of one to three bottles after tasting, and that participating in the event was good for both sales and promotion.  

The F&B head of a participating hotel said that business at the festival was better than their initial estimation, with business doubling at the weekend. A first-time exhibitor commented that the ambience in the venue is very pleasant and said they sold more than 1,000 drinks a night on average. 

As the city is prepared to welcome Halloween, many guests dressed up with creativity and mischief during the “Halloween Weekend”, adding to the playful festivity of the event. 

For an elevated gastronomic journey, visitors could also enjoy a selection of exclusive cocktails blended with local flavours at the Harbour Lounge, taking sips of unique Hong Kong tastes, while enjoying the stunning view of Victoria Harbour. 

Following the five-day event, HKTB is presenting the “Taste Around Town” campaign, in partnership with close to 400 restaurants and bars in town from 28 October to 30 November.  

Participating outlets include high-end restaurants and world acclaimed bars in the “2024 Asia’s 50 best bars”, offering an exciting array of discounts and deals, such as discounts of up to 40%, half-priced menus, and hot pot set deals with a 61% discount.  

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HKTB for more information.

This comes as part of the city's effort to boost local tourism. Most recently, the Tourism Commission and the HKTB have been working on different fronts to attract international cruise lines to make port calls in Hong Kong or make Hong Kong as the home port of their vessels with a view to diversifying visitor sources and the city’s tourism offerings.

Three international cruise ships visited Hong Kong on 24 and 25 October, including Princess Cruises’ Coral Princess, Costa Cruises’ Costa Serena, and Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova, which is making its maiden call to Hong Kong. The three cruise ships brought more than 8,000 visitors from the Mainland and over 30 countries and regions to Hong Kong altogether, including guests from the US, Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan and Singapore.

The inclusion of the event in the itinerary offers the passengers of Silver Nova a unique wine-and-dine experience of the city against the stunning backdrop of Central Harbourfront and Victoria Harbour, showcasing the city’s appeal as a “City of gastronomy”. The cruise guests also enjoyed performances by the China Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra and learned about the art of Chinese wine pairing with Michelin-starred dim sum.

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