Hong Kong Catering and Hospitality Association: Expects about 500 visitors to come to Hong Kong for the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting, hoping to boost high-end dining consumption.

Title context: Hong Kong Catering and Hospitality Association: Expects about 500 visitors to come to Hong Kong for the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting, hoping to boost high-end dining consumption. Text: This year, China will serve as the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for the third time. Among the related events, the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will be held in Hong Kong from the 20th to the 21st of this month. In addition to the political implications of the meeting of finance ministers from various countries, the details of the dining and hospitality arrangements during the conference are also seen as a window reflecting Hong Kong's soft power. Liang Xi, Chairman of the Hong Kong Catering and Hospitality Association, said that the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting is an important opportunity for the hotel and catering industry. He expects that about 500 visitors will come to Hong Kong, including participants, business sector representatives, and family members of delegates, and believes that this international event can boost the catering and tourism industries and showcase Hong Kong's image as a "city of hospitality." It is understood that the Hong Kong government will host banquets during the two-day meeting to welcome guests from various countries. Liang Xi hopes that the banquet menu can feature Fusion Dining, using high-quality local ingredients such as the local fishery and agriculture brand "Premium Fresh Hong Kong Products," to present traditional Cantonese flavors or Hong Kong-style specialty ingredients, showcasing Hong Kong's unique charm as a "center where Chinese and Western cultures converge." Liang Xi also suggested that the banquet menu could include introductions to the sources of ingredients and their cultural background stories, allowing foreign guests to understand Hong Kong's fishery and agriculture development, traditional culinary history, and modern innovation while tasting the food; tea art performances and dim sum-making demonstrations could also be added, allowing foreign guests to personally experience Hong Kong's culinary culture. Industry can launch APEC-themed experience menus This meeting will drive an increase in visitor numbers, including many high-end customer groups. Liang Xi believes that these visitors can boost hotels, fine dining, bars in Central and Lan Kwai Fong, and high-end consumption. He hopes that overseas political leaders and business leaders will experience it firsthand and promote Hong Kong's fine dining and culinary experiences internationally. Liang Xi said that Hong Kong has long enjoyed a high reputation as a "paradise for food" and "Asia's culinary capital," known for its excellent culinary skills and diverse culture that blends Chinese and Western influences, gathering world-class top restaurants, with food quality and service internationally recognized. By combining the hotel, tourism, and catering industries to provide high-standard dining and one-stop services including tourism limousines and guided tours, high-end restaurants and Chinese restaurants can seize the opportunity to launch APEC-themed experience menus and provide multilingual support and cultural adaptation for guests' needs, such as Muslim-friendly catering services. Hong Kong is attractive in the high-end consumption sector To meet relevant needs, restaurants need to have halal certification, vegetarian options, strict ingredient supply chain traceability, and precise service capabilities for various allergens. Frontline teams need multilingual communication skills, such as English and Arabic, and be able to clearly explain the brand stories and cultural connotations behind the dishes, and provide high-standard private room services. When asked whether the industry currently has the relevant hospitality capabilities, Liang Xi said that Hong Kong ranks first in China in the number of Michelin restaurants, and many high-end dining establishments have been included in the "Black Pearl Restaurant Guide," highlighting Hong Kong's attractiveness in the high-end consumption sector. He believes that while leveraging their existing advantages, Hong Kong's high-end restaurants can meet the needs of high-end customers through brand stories, cultural connotations, unique experiences, and innovation. Advocates building a complete consumption chain to extend stays in Hong Kong and boost spending In addition to the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting, the Hong Kong government has also actively promoted many international-scale conferences and exhibitions in recent years. Liang Xi suggested that the government announce the schedule of major events as early as possible and work with the industry to build a complete consumption chain, which will help attract tourists to extend their stay in Hong Kong and increase spending. At the same time, he hopes to distribute major events as evenly as possible across different times rather than overly concentrating them in the same week or month, so that tourists have reasons to visit Hong Kong throughout the year and major events can continuously drive the economy across various sectors in Hong Kong. Citing Singapore's annual F1 race as an example, he noted that financial summits are held before and after the event, bringing together global business celebrities and extending what was originally just a three-day race into a golden period of more than a week, exerting a strong multiplier effect and benefiting all sectors.