HK’s ‘art month’ aims to bring dash of color to local economy
Thousands of visitors from around the world are expected to flood into Hong Kong as a spate of high-profile events kicks off this month, ranging from annual fixtures such as Art Basel to new attractions that include the International Cultural Summit and ComplexCon.
The government said it planned to offer free tram rides and Star Ferry trips, as well as hand out ice cream, as part of a big promotional push for the events designed to attract more tourists.
This year is the first the government has grouped together a range of cultural events and programs under the new “Art March” banner, and authorities have offered organizational and funding support over the period.
Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners and a former government minister, said hotels close to events, such as those in Wan Chai near the venue for Art Basel, were likely to be fully booked.
“Hotel occupancy rates in other areas might be boosted, too,” he added. “If the hotels are in a popular area, the occupancy rate could be up to 90 percent.
Tsui said the recurring nature of many of the events had created a following that would bring high-spending visitors to Hong Kong, which would boost the hotel trade and the wider tourism industry.
Art Basel, Asia’s biggest art fair, will bring 243 galleries to Hong Kong from around the world this year, up from 177 in 2023 and 130 the year before. More than half of them will be exhibitors from across Asia.
The increase showed a gradual return to form for the event after it was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It switched to a digital and in-person hybrid event between 2021 and 2022 and the live event returned last year.
The fair will be held at the Exhibition and Convention Centre between March 28 and 30, with preview days from March 26.
Art Central, which runs alongside Art Basel, will run between March 28 and 31, and return to its harborfront site for the first time since 2019.
Organizers said last year 86,000 visitors attended Art Basel and 40,000 went to Art Central.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said the most important benefit of Art Month was visitors could help rebuild the city’s image among international audiences.
“In the past few years, there were Covid-restrictions and we had social unrest in 2019, so the impression of Hong Kong from the rest of the world is a little blurred,” he said.
“If we organize more activities so people could come and see for themselves what Hong Kong is about, that will be our best promotion.”
People who traveled to Hong Kong for Art March were also likely to be big spenders, and attending artists would also bring along their teams, Chui said.
Pop culture festival ComplexCon will also make its Asia debut from March 22 to 24 at AsiaWorld-Expo with the event expected to welcome 30,000 guests to sample street styles, fashion footwear, art, food and music.
The festival, which started in Los Angeles, like Art Basel and Art Central has attracted support from the government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund.
The city is already in the middle of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Its 52nd edition started late last month and it will finish on March 24.
The annual performing arts extravaganza offers more than 150 shows featuring 1,400 local and international performers, covering genres such as dance, theatre and music from places including Germany, Canada, Morocco, Italy, the Netherlands, and mainland China.
Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Authority will host the International Cultural Summit between March 24 and 26 and together industry leaders from the British Museum, France’s National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, Japan’s Tokyo National Museum and Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, among others.