Hong Kong Book Fair draws record number of over 1 million visitors

The Cultural Affairs Bureau was represented at the Hong Kong Book Fair

The 27th Hong Kong Book Fair ended on Tuesday, after drawing a record attendance of close to 1.02 million visitors, according to a statement from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
The event, which was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in Wan Chai North, featured an extensive selection of literary works, renowned international authors and diverse cultural activities. According to the statement, there were as many as 640 exhibitors from 35 countries present at the Fair.
An overarching theme was adopted for the first time this year, titled “Chinese Martial Arts Literature.” An exhibition on Chinese Martial Arts Literature and an exhibition on “The Literary Giant – Jin Yong and Louis Cha”, which was jointly organized by the HKTDC and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, were set up at the Art Gallery, featuring manuscripts, first edition works and comic books and movies adapted from well-known martial arts literature.
“This year, the Hong Kong Book Fair continued to enjoy the public’s widespread support, with attendance breaking the one million mark for the third consecutive year,” said HKTDC acting executive director Benjamin Chau. “This is a reflection of Hong Kong people’s love of reading and fondness for cultural activities.”
Chau added that the variety of seminars, exhibitions, performances and open public forums associated with the event “turned the Book Fair into a true cultural feast.”
In addition to these activities, new book parades, readings, martial arts demonstrations and traditional song and dance exercises from Shaanxi Province and India all drew a total of more than 300,000 participants.
The HKTDC commissioned an independent market research agency to conduct on-site surveys during the Book Fair in order to better understand the interests and purchasing habits of visitors.
Of the approximately 800 people who responded to the questionnaire, the average visitor spent about HKD900 at the Fair, a comparable figure to that recorded at last year’s event, said the HKTDC.
Only 11 percent of people said that they had planned to spend more this year, while 84 percent said that their budgets were similar to last year’s, as reflected in the stable average spending of visitors.
In terms of genre, fiction topped the list (54 percent), followed by literature (33 percent), travel books (28 percent) and self-improvement books (19 percent).
The on-site survey also found that most respondents had been drawn to the Book Fair by new releases, followed by discounted items and cultural activities.
The on-site cultural activities and more than 260 city-wide related events were held under the banner of the month-long “Cultural July” campaign, which is seeking to promote the joy of reading, culture and art to the Hong Kong public.
The Hong Kong Book Fair also seeks to stimulate an interest in reading among HKSAR residents. The same on-site survey found that almost all respondents (99 percent) said they had read a printed book in the past month, spending on average 24 hours reading it. Some 60 percent of the respondents reported reading an e-book in the past month, taking on average 14 hours to read it. DB