"In contrast to 2003, the HKCEC is anticipating a dynamic and highly productive year ahead," says the newly-promoted Director of Business Development at the HKCEC, Ms Monica Lee-Müller. Having spent ten years as an integral part of the Centre's sales and marketing division, she has her finger firmly on the pulse of developments year on year. "Repeat business is an important measure of how well we're doing," she says, "and in 2003-04, we're welcoming back around 80 per cent of major business." She points to the fact that nearly 80 major exhibitions have been scheduled for 2004, including seven new international trade fairs. And that means 2004 looks extremely promising in terms of event quality, attendance, and occupancy.

"The seven new trade exhibitions are the direct results of targeted business developments by the HKCEC and show how strong is the demand for exhibitions that promote products and services to pan-Asian business and retail markets" says Ms Lee-Müller. "They are a welcome addition to the HKCEC's exhibition portfolio, which now includes many of the largest and best annual shows in Asia and indeed the world." She is confident that the benefits the HKCEC offers to new business will bring organisers back to the Centre again and again. "We're highly sensitive to changes in the global economy and the particular challenges that exhibition organisers have been facing recently," she says. "That's why we offer flexible booking policies and powerful incentives to new shows that we feel are good for Hong Kong."

New Marketing and Sales Manager Veronica To is another who has honed her industry skills through ten years of inside experience at the HKCEC. She says occupancy rates give a good indication of how a venue is faring, and points out that despite the difficulties of 2003, weighted occupancy rates for the HKCEC over the past two fiscal years have averaged between 45 and 50 per cent. "That's a very reasonable figure," she says. "But most encouraging is the extraordinary 57 per cent occupancy trend for the last six months of 2003. It shows just how fast things have turned around since SARS."

This optimism comes after a year of considerable challenges to many industries worldwide. At the HKCEC, morale remained high throughout 2003, and the Centre quickly shifted back into top gear once Hong Kong was declared SARS-free. As a result, the year brought with it a number of positive developments. "Mainland trade visitor numbers continued to rise, for example," says Ms Lee-Müller. "Their numbers at the HKCEC's major trade exhibitions in 2003 were up by 15 per cent over 2002 and by as much as 59 per cent over 2001."

Ms Lee-Müller believes that Hong Kong's reputation as a trading hub for the entire region will continue to underpin organisers' decisions on where to stage their events. "And of course Hong Kong's proximity to China is important, especially now that the visa regulations for Mainland visitors have been relaxed," she says, adding "Here at the HKCEC, we're doing our bit to match the international expectations of our guests. By maintaining a truly world-class facility, we're making sure there is no place exhibition organisers and visitors would rather come."