Hong Kong Tourism hosts Banks Sadler and Grass Roots

Hosted by Hong Kong Tourism, the four-day itinerary included a team-building incentive on the Bounty "pirate boat" from Central to Cheung Chau, sunset cocktails at Discovery Bay and a cable car ride to Ngong Ping village, where delegates partcipated in tea appreciation and visited the Giant Buddha. The programme also included a series of business meetings where delegates met with suppliers, DMCs and team-building agencies.

The event comes as the region to drive business to capitalise on a first quarter of 2010 that saw C&I bookings rise by 28.9 per cent. Hong Kong Tourism estimate that the region attracted 1.16m visitors last year, with the economic slowdown, swine flu and the corporate clampdown on international events cited as reasons for a slower year.

Gilly Wong, general manager of MICE & Cruise of Hong Kong Tourism said she remained cautiously optimistic. "An upturn in the economy has certainly helped with a return to form. But we have also seen events such as the volcano ash in Iceland and the instability in Greece that could drive uncertainty into the market," she said.

"Corporates are coming back to Asia, and Hong Kong's historical ties with the UK gives it significant advantage over our competitors such as Singapore and Malaysia," she added.