Bridge merging HK, Zhuhai, Macao as a world draw

Zhuhai and Hong Kong will intensify cooperation on the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry once the world's largest sea bridge connects them and Macao all together. They are consequently considering a unified image to promote the industry.

The Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center (CEC), AsiaWorld Expo in Hong Kong, Regal Hongkong Hotel, and Zhuhai Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel signed a strategic agreement on July 5. It forges a close partnership to develop the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Tourism Belt and tap into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Great Bay Area market.

The cooperation considers respective MICE resources, the industry environment, market trends, and circumstances in the construction industry.

A hundred company executives, experts, scholars, and media representatives visited the new bridge on the day the agreement was signed. The "one-hour life circle" between the three cities will be in place after it opens later this year. Industry insiders predict the new situation will accelerate regional economic development and foster easier MICE cooperation.

Allen Ha, CEO of AsiaWorld Expo, spoke about establishing a regional tourism and MICE economic community between Zhuhai and Hong Kong. It would require collective international promotion of their brand images and for them to share business resources. It would also allow collaboration on talent cultivation, engineering design, logistics, and transportation, Ha added.

Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center at sunset [Photo courtesy WeChat account of Zhuhai Int'l CEC]

Zhang Wenji, deputy director of the Zhuhai Convention & Expo Bureau, is optimistic about cooperation between Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Macao. The blueprint for the industry will be based on shared resources, rational division of labor, and service improvement up to high-end global standards, Zhang asserted.

The Zhuhai Int'l CEC is a major convention and exhibition facility located in Shizimen Central Business District and overlooking Macao across a narrow waterway. General manager Fu Rui promises to enhance the core competitiveness of the venue and assist in building a high-end convention and exhibition complex in the Greater Bay Area. The overall purpose is to enable customers to enjoy consistent MICE services in both Zhuhai and Hong Kong.