Hong Kong's ICTA Marks 50 Years With 120-Strong Fujian Convention

Nearly 120 Hong Kong travel trade members and guests gathered in Wuyishan, Fujian province from October 22 to 25, as the International Chinese Tourist Association (ICTA, a Hong Kong travel trade body) held its 50th anniversary and 48th Overseas Convention. The scale marks a deliberate break from the past: attendance at previous overseas conventions typically ran 80 to 90 people, and the association expanded the guest list for the landmark edition.

The Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Nanping City Culture and Tourism Bureau supported the four-day programme. It combined trade exchanges, site inspections and cultural visits to nearby Sanming and Shaxian, with Hong Kong agents exploring product lines in group tours, high-end tailor-made itineraries and study tour programmes.

What happened at the convention?

A half-day session at Wyndham Garden Fujian Wuyishan on October 23 carried presentations from Nanping and Wuyishan tourism officials. They pitched Wuyi Mountain's dual UNESCO World Heritage listing for cultural and natural significance, plus developments in tea culture, green tourism and sports tourism — the raw material for sellable Hong Kong outbound product.

Two supplier-side presentations addressed distribution and post-sale service. Joann Zhang, trade marketing manager for southern China at the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), presented Hong Kong's events calendar. Catherine Mak, business development manager for travel business at Zurich Insurance, outlined the company's 24-hour emergency assistance services, following Zurich Hong Kong's integration of AIG's Travel Guard travel insurance and assistance business.

Why Fujian, and who paid?

ICTA chairman Teddy Chung framed the destination choice as a funding question. "We were referred to Fujian tourism, which had the budget to support us, so it proved to be a good match for both sides," he said. Convention chairman Alex Yam spent four months planning and organising the trip.

Chung said the association had invited HKTB to promote Hong Kong to inbound visitors, aligning with the government's Bringing in and Global initiative. He cited new partnerships with Sanming and Wuyishan, and said the convention strengthened tourism cooperation under the Belt and Road and Greater Bay Area initiatives — frameworks with direct bearing on how Hong Kong agents package mainland product.

Who is ICTA?

ICTA is one of eight association members of Hong Kong's Travel Industry Council (the city's travel trade regulatory and co-ordinating body) and the third-oldest travel trade organisation in Hong Kong. It is among the few associations that still organise overseas conventions at all.

Honorary presidents attended, including 78-year-old Jackie Wong See-sum, founder of the now-defunct Hong Thai Travel Services and the longest-serving chairman in ICTA's history across three consecutive terms. "The value of holding overseas conventions lies in creating new business opportunities, as they enable members to connect with local tourism authorities, industry stakeholders and potential partners," he said.

Honorary chairlady Peggy Shum, whose company dates to 1957, pressed the competitive case for product differentiation. "Although we may be selling the same products, we need to be innovative, develop niche offerings and create distinctive brand propositions to stand out in an increasingly competitive market," she said.

With Fujian partnerships signed and attendance up roughly a third on prior conventions, ICTA's model of authority-funded overseas conventions gives its members first-mover access to secondary mainland destinations that larger Hong Kong chains have yet to package at scale.