Southeast Asia Market Spotlight
Southeast Asia Market Profile (2024 Full Year)
Population (million)
GDP per Capita (USD)
Arrivals to Hong Kong
Market UpdateTourism Statistics Database
* For the individual breakdown of tourism statistics by key source region/ market, please refer to the section "Tourism Performance".
Holiday Calendar
Setting
Target Segments
- Age Groups
- Gen Z (20 – 27 years old)
- Millennials / Young Working Adults (28 – 35 years old)
- Families with Young children (30 – 45 years old)
- Mid-Career Working Adults, Single or married with no kids (36 – 49 years old)
- Gen X and Baby Boomers (50 years old and above)
- Special Segments
- Muslim Travellers (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)
- Fortune Seekers (Thailand)
- Affluent (all Southeast Asia Markets)
- Singapore
- Indonesia
- Primary - Jakarta
- Secondary - Surabaya, Medan & Makassar
- Malaysia
- Primary - Kuala Lumpur
- Secondary - Penang & Johor Bahru
- The Philippines
- Primary - Manila
- Secondary - Cebu, Clark & Davao
- Thailand
- Primary - Bangkok
- Secondary - Chiang Mai
- Vietnam
- Primary - Ho Chi Minh City
- Secondary - Hanoi
Flight Schedule Monthly Update
| Weekly flight capacity between Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (for ) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Airline | Flight itinerary | No. of Flights per Week* |
* Subject to change
Source: Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department
Trade Activities Handout
Major Marketing Activities
HELLO HONG KONG 2.0 CAMPAIGNs in southeast asia
As part of the Hello Hong Kong 2.0 (Phase 2) campaign, advertising and marketing promotions with refreshed campaign visuals were rolled out across various channels in Southeast Asia.
- Digital/Social Advertising
Digital campaign across Southeast Asia to drive destination awareness and website traffic towards the Deals Page across popular social channels Facebook, Instagram and TikTok with retargeting in place. Different trendy video assets were used to target each market based on market interests.
- Advertorial co-ops across major media titles in Southeast Asia
- KOL co-ops across Southeast Asia
- Out of Home Advertising in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines
Under Parallel Skies Movie Premieres (March - May 2024)
Regional movie ‘Under Parallel Skies’ starring popular Thai star, Win Metawin and Filipino star, Janella Salvador that showcases Hong Kong’s familiar cityscapes as well as lesser-known islands like Peng Chau had its world premiere at the AMP mall in Hong Kong on 11 March. The event was co-organised by Asian Film Award with 28 Squared Studios. The movie also subsequently held its premiers in cinemas across Philippines and Thailand in April and May 2024. The movie premiers received overwhelming media response which generated with a publicity value of over HKD 8 million.
AWARDS WON IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
HKTB SEA WWO participated in Thailand’s Media Awards organized by Media Agency Association of Thailand. Please refer to the following list of awards won in April.
MAAT Media Awards 2024
- Gold award for Best Media Strategy
- Silver award for Media Effectiveness
Cathay Pacific 6.6 Sale Regional Campaign (June 2024)
Collaborated with Cathay Pacific for a series of regional tactical campaign on Hong Kong flights through joint marketing. With media buy on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok ads and digital ads in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Traveloka (February - May 2024)
Partnered with Traveloka for regional campaign across six markets - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Hong Kong travel products and discount coupons for flight, experiences, and accommodation were offered by Traveloka, supported by dedicated campaign page and web banners within website and app. External media buy and social media posts to drive traffic to campaign page in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Buy 1 Get 1 Free deal.
Trip.com (January - March 2024)
Partnered with Trip.com for regional campaign across 4 markets - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The campaign promoted Hong Kong travel products including experiences and accommodations, through Trip.com’s platform and social media communication channels. Trip.com offered hotel discount coupons, supported by a dedicated campaign page and web banners featured on both their website and mobile app.
THAILAND
HELLO GOOD FORTUNE CAMPAIGN IN THAILAND
As Thais has a large segment of spiritual travellers who travel to pray for good luck and better fortunes, we ran Hello Good Fortune, an extension from the Hello Hong Kong campaign, to promote Hong Kong’s temples and good fortune related activities to the Thai market.
- Good Fortune Webpage on Discover Hong Kong Thai site and Digital Campaign
Created a one-stop shop Thai landing page to house all fortune and temple related information and articles on Discover Hong Kong Thai site. This landing page is also promoted through a digital campaign.
- Media FAM with Thai Fortune Personality, Master Katha
Brought a group of 10 Thai media titles to visit Hong Kong for a media familiarisation trip in February 2024. Engaged popular Thai fortune master, Master Katha, to accompany the FAM so that the media guests are well informed on the prayer practises. Other than showcasing Hong Kong temples that are familiar to Thai travellers, the media guests were introduced to lesser-known temples such as Nam Chung Tin Hau temple.
- Out of Home Advertising across BTS rail network and along major roads in Bangkok
- Partnership with LINE
Partnered with super app in Thailand, LINE, on a co-op to promote Hong Kong temples using the app’s Fortune Sticks game mechanics. Consumers will need to “shake” the fortune sticks on the LINE app Horoscope page to get their fortune read based on various themes. The game mechanic was played more than 300,000 times and drove clicks to the newly developed Good Fortune webpage on Discover Hong Kong.
KLOOK (April - June 2024)
Collaborated with KLOOK to promote travel to Hong Kong from the Philippines and Thailand, riding on the screening of movie ‘Under Parallel Skies’. The partnership included a UPS themed tour package with itinerary around the spots where the movie was filmed, interactive photobooth display featuring Victoria Harbour at selected cinemas with contest mechanism to win a trip to Hong Kong and publicity on KLOOK owned and paid channels The media coop generated a publicity value of HKD 3 million.
Arts in HK KOL Collaboration (March 2024)
Engaged Thai digital artist Painterbell to visit Hong Kong in March to experience Arts in Hong Kong activities such as ComplexCon and M+ museum. With the inspiration gained during his Hong Kong trip, Painterbell will create Hong Kong inspired mobile wallpapers featuring his popular characters, John and Lulu, for Thai consumers to download in Q2-Q3 2024.
Vibe Check with Mario Maurer (May - ongoing)
Collaborated with top tier Thai actor, Mario Maurer, to produce a campaign with localised video and photo assets for the Thai market. Production in Hong Kong was conducted in May 2024 with the launch of the campaign targeted for Q3 2024.
Thai AirAsia (January - March 2024)
Partnered with Thai AirAsia to drive tactical campaign and promote Hong Kong through promotional fares and marketing of latest developments through AirAsia’s owned marketing communication channels, OOH and KOL social engagement post
Krungsri Bank (February - March 2024)
Collaborated with Krungsri Bank (KTC) to promote Hong Kong and boost visitor arrivals from Thailand through KTC’s digital media channels. The campaign utilized KTC's website, tapped into their database for e-newsletters, and featured digital standees offering promotional flight fare travel packages.
THE PHILIPPINES
Movie Theme FAM (June 2024)
Leveraged on the hype and publicity from the 3 Filipino movies filmed in Hong Kong - ‘Hello Love, Goodbye’, ‘Under Parallel Skies’ and ‘Toss Coin’ to showcase the different sides of Hong Kong that are not widely known to the Filipino travellers. 6 lifestyle/entertainment medias visited the outlying island locations such as Sai Kung, Peng Chau and Tai O, city locations such as Avenue of Stars, Aqua Luna and HKMoA that were featured in the movies. Arrangement was also made for media to stay and dine at the hotel and restaurants where the movies were filmed.
KLOOK (April - June 2024)
Collaborated with KLOOK to promote travel to Hong Kong from the Philippines and Thailand, riding on the screening of movie ‘Under Parallel Skies’. The partnership included a UPS themed tour package with itinerary around the spots where the movie was filmed, interactive photobooth display featuring Victoria Harbour at selected cinemas with contest mechanism to win a trip to Hong Kong and publicity on KLOOK owned and paid channels The media coop generated a publicity value of HKD 3 million.
Cebu Pacific (February 2024)
Partnered with Cebu Pacific on an exclusive 3-day Hong Kong seat sale promotion. Social networking sites of Cebu Pacific and email blasts were the major platforms for the marketing and promotional materials.
Travel Tour Expo (February 2024)
Participated in the Travel Tour Expo 2024, organised by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) from 2 to 4 February. Elements of Hong Kong were featured throughout the pavilion’s decorations and featured attractions namely Hong Kong Disneyland, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, Ocean Park Hong Kong, and Ngong Ping 360. Invited KOLs shared their recent travel experiences in Hong Kong during the stage programs of the travel expo.
Cebu Travel Catalogue International (April 2024)
The show provided HKTB to reach out to travellers based in Cebu and the surrounding Visaya region.
VIETNAM
Vietnam Media FAM (March 2024)
Organised a media FAM trip for 6 lifestyle media titles with an itinerary that focuses on the new and the old Hong Kong. Visited key new attractions such as the revamped Avenue of Stars and the Peak Tram, as well as the revitalised Temple Street Night Market and Central Market. The group also visited the ‘Hong Kong Pop 60+’ and ‘Timeless Diva: Anita Mui’ exhibitions. They also joined a Hong Kong Movie Tour to some of the filming sports of Hong Kong movies.
Vietnam KOL FAM (March 2024)
Embarked on a KOL FAM Partnership co-op to further promote the offerings and to drive Hong Kong brand awareness through the creation of social media content by Vietnamese KOLs. A group of 8 Vietnamese KOLs visited attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland, Peak Tram, M+ Museum, and sky100 to create content across Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
INDONESIA
Insert! Story Solo (Production and Broadcast: February - March 2024)
Hosted by popular host Indra Herlambang and produced by free-to-air broadcaster, Trans TV, the program shows the host visiting places that have a historical & cultural story that is told by locals via an on-camera interview. We covered a range of neighbourhoods and experiences, across Central, Tai-O Fishing Village, Arts in Hong Kong and West Kowloon. Besides the local neighbourhoods and heritage, we took the chance to promote Hong Kong’s Halal food offerings and Muslim-friendly restaurants.
Brand Partnership with Nada Puspita (June 2024)
Partnered with Muslimah Fashion brand, Nada Puspita, to do a lookbook shoot for their new fashion line in Hong Kong. The campaign launched in June 2024 includes creating photo and video assets of Indah Nada Puspita, a well-known Indonesian fashion influencer in Hong Kong, for HKTB’s future use for Muslim Travel promotion. Indah shared her experiences and Muslim-friendly travel tips in Hong Kong during the collection launch event which was attended by 22 media titles and 100 Nada Puspita Woman Community members.
IN-MARKET EVENTS
To foster closer relations and to position Hong Kong as a Muslim-friendly destination, HKTB organised the annual Buka Puasa event on 27 March 2024 to celebrate the Ramadan festive season with over 70 Muslim media and trade partners. Popular TV personality, Indra Herlambang, hosted the event and interviewed the KOL guest, TV actress, Dian Ayu, on her family holiday to Hong Kong.
Singapore Airlines Seat Sales (Singapore - February 2024 & Indonesia - March 2024)
Collaborated with Singapore Airlines for a tactical campaign with special lead-in fare to promote Hong Kong as a key destination and to drive visits Hong Kong. Leveraging Singapore Airlines’ owned marketing communication channels and dedicated promotional page and media ads recommendations to drive sales during promotional period.
Garuda Indonesia (January 2024)
Launched tactical deals with Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda to drive sales to Hong Kong. To promote Hong Kong special fare through owned communication channels and media buy on Garuda’s platform including a standalone landing page. HKTB Hosted a joint familiarisation trip in Hong Kong for 13 top Indonesia agents on 27 - 30 January to introduce the new key developments in Hong Kong including West Kowloon.
Tiket.com (January - February 2024)
Cooperated with one of Indonesia’s largest Online Travel Agent, tiket.com, to push out tactical promotion for Hong Kong.
SINGAPORE
Camping Around the World (Production: April 2024, Broadcast: January 2025)
Supported Singapore’s only free-to-air Chinese TV channel, Channel 8, on their travel reality show featuring celebrities and their friends or family for a camping trip around the world. In their Hong Kong episode, Wone Jinglun and his mother explored the Great Outdoors and showcased its farming activities and local markets around the campsite.
Geek Culture (March 2024)
Hosted Geek Culture, a lifestyle media title that specialises in niche topics such as toys, tech & gadgets, animations and pop-culture, for a 5D4N trip to cover ComplexCon Hong Kong, pop culture and other art events during the period.
Travel Intern (March 2024)
Media covered a variety of Great Outdoor experiences such as Cheung Chau (Glamping), Sai Kung (Hikes & Jet Boat Tours) & Tai Mo Shan (Trekking) during their 5D4N media trip. To further engage their readers, Travel Intern ran a social media giveaway contest to win a pair of return flight tickets to Hong Kong.
BeauLife (March - April 2024)
Collaborated with lifestyle media title The BeauLife, covering Great Outdoor experiences such as hiking and wellness activities in the outlying island. The co-op also featured two influential fitness influencers Jia En and Jasmine Chong.
Willabelle Ong (March 2024)
Hosted Willabelle, a known social media personality popular for luxury fashion, photography and art, during the Art Basel period, to create and share content about the various art events in Hong Kong.
Tripartite campaign with Cathay Pacific and The Smart Local (Apil 2024)
Supported The Smart local’s (TSL) popular SGD100 challenge that brings a TSL host and winner to Hong Kong, to experience adventurous activities in Hong Kong that will appeal to the Gen-Zs.
MALAYSIA
Axian Restaurant Trails (Production: November 2023, Broadcast: January - February 2024)
To promote the rich and flavourful food scene in Hong Kong through the feature of traditional Cantonese and Teochew restaurants, HKTB collaborated with Astro AEC and famous Malaysian food TV host, Jason Yeoh to discover the distinctive signature dishes that characterises jiulou establishments around the world with three episodes focusing on Hong Kong and featuring six restaurants.
Taste of Hong Kong (Production: October 2023, Broadcast: March - April 2024)
This travel programme by iQIYI, focuses on six different themes ranging from street snacks to star chefs and creatively blend in related clips from popular movies and TV dramas with real-life stories hosted by actors from the corresponding shows. To draw relevance to the Malaysian market, iQIYI has invited Malaysian celebrity Joey Chua, to be one of the TV hosts.
PIN Prestige (January - August 2024)
Collaborated with leading affluent Chinese media title, to develop print and digital articles and social posts, to target the affluent community with topics that cuts across fine dining, fashion, arts and events in Hong Kong. As a value-add, PIN Prestige has created a Hong Kong themed supper club for their annual Chinese New Year gala dinner, which was attended by 150 high society Malaysians.
Art Content Creators - Red Hong Yi and Sheen Liam (March 2024)
Hosted two content creators who are well known Malaysia for their passion for arts, to attend Art Basel and other arts-related events in Hong Kong.
AirAsia (April - June 2024)
Collaborated with AirAsia for marketing co-op to promote Hong Kong as a key destination. Co-op included two groups of KOL FAM trip to Hong Kong. The KOL content will be used to drive Hong Kong destination awareness and to push for Hong Kong flights during promotional period. Additionally, leveraging AirAsia owned marketing communication channels and dedicated promotional page and media ads recommendations to drive sales during promotional period.
Malaysia Airlines (June - July 2024)
Collaborated with Malaysia Airlines for marketing co-op to promote Hong Kong as a key destination. Co-op will include tactical fare with marketing support from Malaysia Airlines owned assets and paid media including digital ads and OOH.
