Hong Kong Holds First Festival of Connoisseurs Luxury Expo, Spanning Yachts, Jets, Jewellery and Cars

Hong Kong's first luxury expo, the Festival of Connoisseurs, is running from Wednesday to Friday at AsiaWorld-Expo. Organised by Informa Markets, it is the first exhibition supported by the government's HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) initiative to attract high-quality, large-scale international exhibitions to the city. The event brings together nine high-end sectors: yachts; supercars and classic cars; gastronomy; art and design; travel; wellness; jewellery and watches; private jets; and property.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the festival needs people who appreciate the exhibits, customers who want to buy them and an environment where business can flourish, calling this Hong Kong's strength as a 'superconnector'. He cited the city's free flow of capital, goods, talent and information, its low and simple tax regime, low or zero duties on luxury products, efficient customs clearance and extensive logistics connections. Patrick Martell, chief executive of Informa Markets, said the expo aims to cement Hong Kong's position as Asia's definitive destination of luxury.

Exhibitors said bringing different sectors under one roof could help them reach new customers. Paul Grange, co-founder and chief operating officer of Marine Italia Asia, exclusive distributor of Italy's Azimut Yachts, said boat shows in Asia are typically smaller affairs and that exhibiting alongside other luxury sectors could bring in 'new blood'. The company, which has operated in Hong Kong for 35 years, sells yachts from HK$7 million for an entry-level vessel to HK$254 million for a new 44-metre (144-foot) model launched earlier this year.

Prakhar Lunia, owner of Faidee, a jeweller specialising in unheated Burmese rubies, brought one-of-a-kind pieces priced from HK$785,000 to HK$69 million. It was the Thailand-based brand's first consumer-focused event; the company has a boutique in Monaco and a showroom in Hong Kong. Tav Keen, who co-founded Regenesis with Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, brought a HK$1.3 million wellness pod using light, sound, vibration and scent, marking the Bali-based brand's first venture into Hong Kong.

Three-day tickets cost HK$14,100 and day passes HK$9,400.

Private jets are one of nine categories on the floor here, sitting next to yachts, supercars, jewellery and property rather than inside a dedicated aviation show. For aircraft sellers and charter or fractional sales teams, this is a recognisable format: the buyer being courted is a wealthy individual whose spending crosses categories, and the exhibition is organised around that person rather than around the aircraft.

The government backing matters to how the segment operates. A HK$100 million scheme aimed at pulling large international exhibitions to Hong Kong, with Paul Chan's pitch resting on low duties on luxury goods, simple taxation and customs and logistics efficiency, frames the city as competing with other Asian hubs for wealth-oriented trade events. Where jets, yachts and cars are sold together, the same tax and clearance arguments apply across all of them.

What would give the format weight for aviation is evidence of aircraft-related enquiries or deals arising from the show, which exhibitors in the private jet sector would be the ones to report. Marine Italia Asia's Paul Grange has already described the cross-sector audience as a source of new customers for his own category; whether jet exhibitors say the same will indicate whether this room works for aircraft.