Anette Wendel-Menke has risen through the Hong Kong Tourism Boards ranks since 1999, taking the post as director for the UK & Europe this summer.
Wendel-Menke spoke to Travel Bulletin's Matt Hayhoe about her new role, which will see her heading up the tourism board's trade approach, the destination's recovery, and future focus for the board's activities.
"I'm so excited to take on my role as director for the UK & Europe at such a pivotal time for the destination.
"Hong Kong is really a melting pot, right in the heart of Asia. It's hardly an unknown destination for UK travellers, it's one of the most desirable city destinations if you're heading to Asia, and now it's in a position to have a lot of offerings no matter what you're looking for."
A trend growing all the more evident post-pandemic is longer stays and more immersive experiences to help customers understand their destinations. Anette made it clear that the destination is well positioned to rise to this demand and meet it with unique opportunities to explore Hong Kong.
"This'll be a major focus for us; how can guests explore Hong Kong like a local, dive behind the scenes and get an authentic background to their experiences in the destination? That idea spans everything, it's the culinary capital of Asia, you're able to discover nightlife like nowhere else, there's so much to get into as a traveller that often falls under the radar."
It's been a long road to recovery, one which the wider board and its new regional director will continue to navigate as the destination emerges from a prolonged period of Covid restrictions across Far East Asia.
"We are slowly but surely recovering. We've already put initiatives in place to drive awareness in all of our key markets, one of which will always be the UK. To date, that's paid off with 16.5 million arrivals since the travel restrictions were lifted in the first quarter of 2023. From the UK, that's 91,110 visitors for the first half of the year. To put that into perspective, on average we've had around 500,000 per year from the UK.
"Our work with our airline partners has played a major role, we've seen a vast increase in flight capacity with British Airways offering 14 flights a week and Cathay Pacific with 39 flights a week from London and Manchester. That's around 76% of pre-pandemic levels. With that we're seeing an improvement in returning visitor numbers. We're not expecting those numbers to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels immediately, but we're really confident that we'll get there within time."
What does this all mean for travel agents breaking into the Far East or established sellers of Hong Kong?
"We've exemplified our work with the trade since the remaining restrictions were lifted, and will continue to do so. We're running campaigns with Trailfinders and Premier Holidays to promote Hong Kong holidays across their B2B channels. Shortly, we'll be running a pan-European campaign with Expedia, which includes tactical offers, destination micro-sites and social activity.
"We'll be running specific B2B campaigns, with If Only for example, which will include agent training events, social offers and trade exclusive offers. We'll continue to work closely with PATA and participate in the PATA Exchange, their roadshows and more in 2024.
"Of course, we're keeping old traditions alive like our annual Chinese New Year event, with next year's Year of the Dragon being an important one for us. We'll invite the trade along to celebrate with us and deliver the latest news and updates from Hong Kong."
