The obvious choice for Fossil - Discover Hong Kong

No city beats Hong Kong:The obvious choice for FossilCompanies worldwide are taking advantage of HongKong’s unique attractions for a huge variety of corporateevents. No matter whether you are planning a megaevent,a regional conference, a corporate meeting or anincentive trip, few destinations can match Hong Kong’sdiversity of activities, sights and venues.The experience and spirit of Hong Kong’s many tourismprofessionals will also guarantee that your event will besuccessful and a motivation booster for the attendees.And don’t forget the Hong Kong Tourism Board is alwaysready to offer free advice on venues and social programmes,as well as a full range of marketing tools.An exciting␣ dining room light show heightensthe atmosphere as the awards are presented.Read the testimonial inside – and book your next event here ...

Overwhelming responseThrough the years, the response rate tothe invitations that Fossil sends out hascontinued to grow, and in 2006 Fossilhosted 170 people, a new record. Thelast four conferences have been held atthe same hotel, the Harbour Plaza HongKong, right on the Kowloon waterfrontnear Whampoa Garden.“Two years ago, we only used the firstfloor of the hotel. Last year, we alsotook over the 18th floor, and for thisyear we needed to add the presidentialsuite on the 19th floor,” says Seon Joo,regional marketing manager, who hasbeen responsible for the planning.She regards the Harbour Plaza HongKong as an excellent venue for an eventof this kind: “It is inspirational, since itoffers a fabulous view wherever you are inthe hotel. The hotel staff are also veryprofessional, dedicated and flexible.”Handsomely appointed meeting rooms were the perfect setting for business discussions.When US-based Fossil Inc arranged itsannual Asia Sales Conference in HongKong in 2006, it was the fifth year in arow that Fossil had chosen Hong Kongas the location.“The annual sales conference is themost important event of the year for usand, as a destination, Hong Kongcontributes a lot to our success. Eversince we began hosting the conferenceshere, we have seen a 50 per centgrowth in sales per year,” says MarkParker, senior vice president Asia.convenient to go to. There is no betteralternative than Hong Kong, since it hasdirect flights to most cities where ourguests come from and most of theflights are just a few hours. It alsomakes sense to arrange this conferencein Hong Kong since we have ourregional headquarters here and amajority of our products are manufacturedin south China,” says Parker.The customers are entertained bytraditional cultural performances.All the business activities took place inthe hotel, including the boardroommeetings, the poolside welcome dinner,the awards presentation dinner, and theproduct reviews and press interviews,which meant that many of the hotel’srooms and suites had to be transformedto suit Fossil’s needs.Special showrooms were set up foreach of the 14 brands that Fossilmarkets and distributes in Asia. All theproducts were on display, andFossil offers an extensive line of fashionwatches, sold under both its own housebrands and a number of licensed brands,such as Adidas, Burberry, DKNY, EmporioArmani and Marc Jacobs.“We bring in customers, brand managersand media representatives from allover Asia, as well as from Australia,Egypt, Germany and the US, so weneed to be at a place which is very

Next time, Annemiek Ballestywill bring her family fromAustralia to Hong Kong.Support from HKTBThe Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) encouragesinternational corporations to hold conferences andincentive travel activities in Hong Kong.The HKTB can help planners with ideas for teambuilding activities or themes for parties. It can giverecommendations on venues and itineraries as well asplenty of other support (www.discoverhongkong.com/mice).Perfect locationAnnemiek Ballesty is Dutch, but she has spent the lastten years in Sydney, Australia, where she is managingdirector of Fossil. She says she enjoys going to theannual conference in Hong Kong, which she has beendoing since they got under way five years ago.“It’s a perfect way of meeting with the staff from theregional office. We also have samples of all theproducts here, since they are produced on the otherside of the border.”Ballesty says that Hong Kong is the place to be if youwant to impress customers at exclusive restaurantsand bars. She enjoys shopping, and is a frequentvisitor to both Hong Kong’s brand boutiques and theLadies’ Market in Mongkok. She says she alsoappreciates Chinese food, and is even partial to a spotof karaoke.“I always bring some gifts home to my family and Ihave bought Chinese suits for my two small children.But now my six-year old daughter has found out thatDisneyland has opened in Hong Kong, and she putspressure on me to bring her there. So next time,maybe the whole family will go,” says Ballesty.Meeting planners can also take advantage of the onlineRequest-For-Proposal (RFP) system, which covers a rangeof hotel partners and venues. Using the RFP system,corporations can specify their accommodation, meetingspace and catering needs all in one easy-to-use onlineform (www.discoverhongkong.com/rfp).Furthermore, corporations can make use of the HongKong REWARDS programme, which provides value addonsfor corporate meetings and incentive travellers(www.discoverhongkong.com/rewards).“Through the years, the Hong Kong Tourism Board hasalso provided us with a variety of other things, such asa drum show, a lion dance, welcome messages at theairport and name carving on chopsticks,” says SeonJoo, regional marketing manager at Fossil.Participants received custom-madesouvenirs with a Chinese touch.The Hong Kong Tourism Board encourages international corporations to hold their meetings and incentive travel activities in HongKong. For more information about how the Board can assist in these areas, please visit www.DiscoverHongKong.com/mice.Information is correct as of May 2007, but is subject to change without prior notice. The Hong KongTourism Board disclaims any liability for the quality or fitness for the purpose of third-party productsor services, or for any errors or omissions.© Copyright Hong Kong Tourism Board 200748937680048700507Printed for the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Eng, May 2007 (0487)