Business travel to Hong Kong received a visible boost on 4 March 2026 as the 42nd Hong Kong International Jewellery Show opened its doors at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, running in tandem with the Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show at AsiaWorld-Expo. Organiser HKTDC confirmed that about 4,000 exhibitors from more than 40 countries and regions have registered—numbers that rival 2019’s record edition and reinforce the territory’s role as a regional MICE hub. Several features illustrate how organisers are adapting to a changed mobility landscape. First, HKTDC negotiated a temporary increase in quota slots for the Airport Express e-channel, allowing pre-registered badge-holders to clear immigration in under five minutes. Second, the council partnered with Taobao Tmall and, for the first time, Douyin to provide live-stream sales options, recognising that not all buyers are ready to travel. Uzbek jewellers, attending under a debut national pavilion, praised Hong Kong’s new 14-day visa-free scheme for emerging Central Asian markets, introduced last October.
![4,000 overseas exhibitors descend on Hong Kong as Jewellery Show returns to pre-pandemic scale]()
For exhibitors and buyers whose nationalities do require advance paperwork, VisaHQ can streamline the process with digital applications, document checks and real-time status updates. Its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets travellers verify whether they fall under the territory’s visa-free list or need a business visit endorsement, shaving days off lead times and helping companies stay compliant.
Hotels across Wan Chai and Kowloon report occupancy rates above 90 per cent this week, with average daily room rates up 18 per cent year-on-year. Corporate-travel managers, especially in the luxury-retail supply chain, are reinstating pre-COVID rotation schedules for merchandisers and quality-assurance staff. Airlines have responded by adding 12 ad-hoc passenger and three cargo flights to Hong Kong during the five-day fair period. The show’s return has knock-on implications for mobility compliance. Employers must ensure visiting staff utilise the updated ‘Business Visit under Contracts’ category, which the Immigration Department recently clarified permits participation in trade-fair seminars and limited on-site after-sales services for up to 14 days. Duty-of-care teams should also note crowd-management measures around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, including designated drop-off points that restrict coach parking to 15-minute windows. Looking ahead, HKTDC confirmed bookings for 2027 and hinted at expanding its ‘Two Shows, Two Venues’ format to include a tech-enabled sourcing platform that would merge buyer registration with e-visa pre-clearance—a pilot that could set a template for future large-scale events in the city.
For exhibitors and buyers whose nationalities do require advance paperwork, VisaHQ can streamline the process with digital applications, document checks and real-time status updates. Its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets travellers verify whether they fall under the territory’s visa-free list or need a business visit endorsement, shaving days off lead times and helping companies stay compliant.
Hotels across Wan Chai and Kowloon report occupancy rates above 90 per cent this week, with average daily room rates up 18 per cent year-on-year. Corporate-travel managers, especially in the luxury-retail supply chain, are reinstating pre-COVID rotation schedules for merchandisers and quality-assurance staff. Airlines have responded by adding 12 ad-hoc passenger and three cargo flights to Hong Kong during the five-day fair period. The show’s return has knock-on implications for mobility compliance. Employers must ensure visiting staff utilise the updated ‘Business Visit under Contracts’ category, which the Immigration Department recently clarified permits participation in trade-fair seminars and limited on-site after-sales services for up to 14 days. Duty-of-care teams should also note crowd-management measures around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, including designated drop-off points that restrict coach parking to 15-minute windows. Looking ahead, HKTDC confirmed bookings for 2027 and hinted at expanding its ‘Two Shows, Two Venues’ format to include a tech-enabled sourcing platform that would merge buyer registration with e-visa pre-clearance—a pilot that could set a template for future large-scale events in the city.
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