AsiaWorld-Expo , the new exhibition centre at the Hong Kong International Airport, today announces that it will be the host venue for ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 (exhibition and forum).
Recognised as the Olympics of the International Telecommunications industry, ITU TELECOM WORLD is the most prominent global telecommunications event bringing together the world's leading top-level telecoms players from both the public and private sectors, heads of state, ministers, regulators and CEOs of multinational corporations. It is estimated that the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 will attract more than 100,000 overseas visitors to Hong Kong. With ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 and the other 12 confirmed major international exhibitions announced earlier, the total economic contributions of AsiaWorld-Expo in 2006 will surge to HK$4 billion as a result.
Mr Nicolas Borit, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaWorld-Expo Management Limited said, "It is a wonderful news for everyone in Hong Kong and it is a very great honour for AsiaWorld-Expo to host this highly prestigious international event as it will be the first time that ITU TELECOM WORLD will be held outside Geneva since its inception in 1971. ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 will take up all the space of AsiaWorld-Expo, like the full-house fairs from Global Sources announced earlier this week. In addition to our 12 major international exhibitions confirmed in 2006, ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 simply couldn't come at a better time. It is the outcome of a joint effort of the Hong Kong bidding team, led by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (CITB). We would like to thank all the bidding team members for their support and will continue to work very closely with ITU, CITB, Hong Kong Tourism Board and various parties to stage the best event ever."
Five cities (Hong Kong, Geneva, Milan, Istanbul and Algiers) expressed interests in hosting the event. After a series of consultations, ITU Board has selected Hong Kong mainly due to "its enormous market opportunity represented by Asia, and by China in particular". Strategically sited next to the Hong Kong International Airport and at the heart of China's Pearl River Delta, AsiaWorld-Expo will be easily accessible from most of the destinations in the world. There will also be cross-boundary ferry services and a land transport network linking AsiaWorld-Expo to the key cities in Southern China and Macau. AsiaWorld-Expo will provide an unrivalled platform for the most influential industry representatives from China and the rest of the world to meet, network, exchange ideas and do business at the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006.
Mr Borit continued, " AsiaWorld-Expo, as the name suggests, is set to bring Hong Kong and Asia to the World of Expos, and provides an international and ideal platform for holding world expositions like ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006. When we talk about events that could not happen before in Hong Kong, ITU TELECOM WORLD is a classic example of a world-class, global event that simply could not have come to Hong Kong without the city's newest and biggest venue, AsiaWorld-Expo.
"AsiaWorld-Expo welcomes the overall exhibition and forum activities on site by offering a state-of-the-art and large exhibition space including our multi-purpose Arena with its 19m clear height that will be a perfect fit for ITU multi-storey exhibition stands, a specific office space of about 2,000 sq m for ITU event team management during the event, our "Meeting and Conference Centre" and a variety of meeting rooms totalling over 3,500 sq m to host the forum. The Press Centre will also be set up at our Arena's VIP backstage area.
"Apart from its superb facilities, AsiaWorld-Expo also offers an array of on-coming advantages for the ITU TELECOM WORLD attendees, such as Hong Kong Disneyland, the Tung Chung Cable Car to the Big Buddha and its theme village, mega shopping centre, executive golf course and a wide spectrum of hotels to choose from," Mr Borit added.
A new MTR station, AsiaWorld-Expo Station, will provide convenient access for the ITU TELECOM WORLD attendees to the railway service to Hong Kong's central business district and the MTR network as a whole.
"Staging this high profile event at AsiaWorld-Expo will definitely help strengthen Hong Kong's position as 'Trade Capital of Asia' and now of the World. We are extremely excited and look forward to welcoming our overseas visitors to AsiaWorld-Expo in 2006," added Mr Borit.
ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 will feature a world-class Exhibition showing the latest technological trends and a Forum converging the leaders of industry and key policy makers to discuss and explore areas essential to the growth of the global telecommunications industry. The ITU TELECOM WORLD event was organised for the first time in 1971 and the most recent event was ITU TELECOM WORLD 2003 which attracted 911 exhibitors representing 51 countries (including Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Sun etc), 375 industry's CEOs and 148 government ministers and regulators. Over 1,500 journalists including 300 broadcast media and more than 120 industry analysts were also accredited for the show. It also attracted an average daily flow of visitors of 14,406.
Founded in 1865, ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations, responsible for development of policies, radio regulations and global standards for the telecommunications industry. Comprising 189 Member states and over 600 Sector Members, ITU is the largest and most influential telecom organisation in the world.