- The Hong Kong Book Fair, Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks drew to a successful close today, with an enthusiastic response from booklovers despite the typhoon. Following the adverse weather, the three fairs extended their opening hours, recording 890,000 visits in total
- The Eight Seminar Series at the Hong Kong Book Fair was well-received, with renowned writers’ seminars reaching full capacity and drawing active participation from both citizens and tourists
- The three mega events successfully attracted a diverse range of visitors, including local people and tourists from Mainland China, while some Book Fair exhibitors even welcomed booklovers from Japan and Southeast Asia
HONG KONG, July 22, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - A Hong Kong spotlight event in July and a feature of Hong Kong Summer Viva, the 35th HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair, 8th HKTDC Sports and Leisure Expo and 5th HKTDC World of Snacks drew to a successful close today. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the three events brought together more than 770 exhibitors, combining the fun of reading, sports, leisure and food to create a summer extravaganza with widespread appeal. Although the passage of the typhoon forced a full-day closure on Sunday, the three exhibitions still attracted 890,000 visits.
Sophia Chong, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: “The Hong Kong Book Fair has long been a popular event for local people and visitors alike. The enthusiasm of booklovers remained undiminished despite the typhoon on Sunday. Many seized the time before and after the typhoon to visit and immerse themselves in this cultural and leisure extravaganza, with a robust turnout. We extended the opening hours on Monday, striving to secure more sales and visiting opportunities for exhibitors and visitors and bring this big summer event to a successful close.”
Ms Chong added that this year's 35th edition of the Book Fair, themed “Food Culture: Future Living”, featured three special offers that were well received, including free admission for more than 10,000 individuals born in 1990. “These initiatives received an enthusiastic response, with seminars reaching full capacity. Esteemed writers from various regions engaged with booklovers, further cementing Hong Kong’s position as an east-meets-west centre for international cultural exchange,” she said.
In conjunction with the Book Fair, the Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks offered a diverse range of experiences and culinary delights, creating synergies for visitors and enhancing the overall event experience. The HKTDC will continue to organise a variety of exhibitions, with the Food Expo, Food Expo PRO, Beauty & Wellness Expo, Home Delights Expo, and Hong Kong International Tea Fair all taking place in August. The overarching goal is to present exhibitors with new business opportunities that can contribute to the sustained growth and vibrancy of the Hong Kong economy.
Enthusiasm of booklovers remains high despite typhoon
Big crowds of visitors were seen throughout the Book Fair. Exhibitor Creation Cabin Limited, which experienced long queues as soon as the fair opened, followed the Kowloon Walled City craze to launch Citi of Darkness: The Rise within the Walls 1973-1988, attracting many Japanese readers. Editor Shing Kit said: "We saw about 30 to 40 Japanese readers visiting our booth each day. One of them had even made a special effort to renew their passport to travel to Hong Kong to purchase the book at the Book Fair, which is truly touching."
First-time exhibitor Anything But also experienced long queues. Booth representative Ms Tai stated that business surpassed expectations, with sales in the first three days exceeding their projections by 30%. Although the typhoon caused a one-day halt, the overall results still beat their estimates. "The Book Fair is a great opportunity for us to connect with readers,” she said. “In addition to local booklovers, many readers travelled to Hong Kong from Macao, Singapore and Malaysia, and one even rescheduled a flight to arrive earlier on Saturday because of the typhoon."
An antiquities shop specialising in calligraphy and artworks, Tsi Ku Chai was also participating in the exhibition for the first time, meticulously crafting their booth in the new Cultural and Creative Products Zone of the Book Fair. Brian Lai, Administrative Director of the company, said: "Business on Saturday doubled compared to weekdays, with many young people visiting. We aim to rejuvenate our brand by collaborating with artists to launch cultural and creative products, and the Book Fair served as an excellent testing ground for this."
Long-time visitor Ms Lee attended the Book Fair this year before the typhoon hit Hong Kong and was pleased with the atmosphere and arrangements. She mentioned that she couldn’t explore the entire fair in one day, so upon learning about the early opening on Monday, she decided to visit again and continue searching for her favourite items, mainly purchasing stationery and speciality products. She spent nearly HK$2,000 in total this year, which is more than in previous years.
Over 50% of Book Fair visitors attended to explore new books
During the Book Fair, more than 860 visitors were interviewed by a research institute commissioned by the HKTDC to gain insights into their reading and spending habits. The survey showed that respondents spent an average of HK$918 at this year’s Book Fair, a slight increase compared to last year, and that this spending accounted for 57% of their annual print book expenditure. Over 90% of exhibitors at the three fairs offered an electronic payment service, while 81% of visitors interviewed said they used electronic payments for their transactions.
The main objectives for people visiting the Book Fair were given as obtaining newly released books (55%), enjoying discounts (49%) and experiencing the cultural atmosphere of an international book fair (27%). The Book Fair is pivotal as the premier destination for booklovers seeking high-quality reading materials, providing a crucial platform for promotions and sales within the publishing industry. The survey also showed that the most popular book categories among readers this year were fiction and novels (45%), children and youth-related books (25%), literature (23%), comics (17%), and supplementary exercise (16%).
Reading enthusiasm sweeps through July with more exciting content
To further promote reading and culture in Hong Kong, the Book Fair is once again organising Cultural July, featuring multiple cultural activities across the city’s 18 districts. The activity is organised in collaboration with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government as well as publishers and various educational, cultural and arts institutions. Activities will continue until 31 July – more details can be found at
https://hkbookfair.hktdc.com/CulturalJuly/index.aspx.
Recordings of selected Book Fair seminars are available online and can be revisited at any time through the Book Fair website or via other HKTDC online platforms.
Visitors enjoy sports, leisure and culinary experiences at concurrent fairs
To support the 15th National Games, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, and to promote wider sports participation among the public, the Sports and Leisure Expo featured an exhibition area where visitors could take photos with games mascots Xiyangyang and Lerongrong. Appealing to individuals of all ages, the expo provided information on the National Games and let visitors try out emerging sports, AI-driven sports and a wellness management platform as well as different sports and leisure products. The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Hong Kong 2025 basketball tournament, held indoors at the HKCEC for the first time, also introduced a carnival-style 3x3 Village that offered visitors a multitude of experiences to enjoy. The World of Snacks gathered over 1,300 different products this year, featuring a variety of global snacks, classic flavours, healthy options and handcrafted snacks, ensuring that visitors left with a full array of treats.
Following on from these three successful events, the HKTDC will continue in its mission to organise a diverse range of exhibitions that can actively help Hong Kong entrepreneurs build global connections and advance Hong Kong’s role as a superconnector and super value-adder. August will see the staging of the Food Expo, Food Expo PRO, Beauty & Wellness Expo, Home Delights Expo, and Hong Kong International Tea Fair, while September features the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, Salon de TIME, CENTRESTAGE and the Belt and Road Summit. October will see the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition), Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition), electronicAsia, Eco Expo Asia and Hong Kong International Outdoor and Tech Light Expo. Taking place in November will be the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair and Hong Kong International Optical Fair, while December sees DesignInspire, HKTDC Entrepreneur Day and the Business of IP Asia Forum all taking place in Hong Kong.
Photo download: https://bit.ly/4eYhOqm
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The Hong Kong Book Fair, Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks drew to a successful close today. The concurrent events attracted 890,000 visits.
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Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR, interacted with booksellers and citizens at the Book Fair. He also visited the newly established Hong Kong Tech Showcase area and the Cultural and Creative Products Zone, demonstrating his support for the advancement of innovative technology and cultural creativity in Hong Kong.
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The Eight Seminar Series at the Hong Kong Book Fair fostered engaging interactions between authors and booklovers, attracting numerous locals and tourists to participate. The image shows a lecture by Xu Zi-dong, former Chair of the Department of Chinese at Lingnan University.
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This year's Book Fair not only received strong support from many Chinese-language authors but also attracted numerous foreign-language authors to speak. The image shows a lecture by Dr Sian “Leo” Proctor.
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To echo the Book Fair’s theme of the year, “Food Culture-Future Living", the World of Art and Culture, funded by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, featured a cross-cultural exhibition in which eight local and overseas artists collaborated with various Consulates-General in Hong Kong. The exhibition received widespread acclaim from visitors, particularly for its engaging interactive installations which proved very popular.
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Making its debut at the Sports and Leisure Expo, Gymetaverse Company Limited partners with multiple sport associations to deliver new sporting experiences, promoting AI-driven sports and a wellness management platform.
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The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Hong Kong 2025 basketball tournament, held indoors at the HKCEC for the first time, also introduced the carnival-style 3x3 Village that offered visitors a multitude of experiences to enjoy.
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The Travel Zone added a Thailand Pavilion this year, offering an introduction to in-depth travel experiences in Thailand and featuring Thai cultural dance performances for the delight of the public.
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The World of Snacks gathered over 1,300 different treats, featuring a variety of global snacks, classic flavours, healthy options and handcrafted snacks.
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Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.
Media enquiries
Hong Kong Book Fair, Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks
Yuan Tung Financial Relations:
Agnes Yiu Tel: (852) 3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk
Salina Cheng Tel: (852) 3428 2362 Email: salcheng@yuantung.com.hk
HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Snowy Chan Tel: (852) 2584 4525 Email: snowy.sn.chan@hktdc.org
Serena Cheung Tel: (852) 2584 4272 Email: serena.hm.cheung@hktdc.org
Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo, World of Snacks
HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
Stanley So Tel: (852)2584 4049 Email: stanley.hp.so@hktdc.org
Jane Cheung Tel: (852) 2584 4137 Email: jane.mh.cheung@hktdc.org
HKTDC Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit:www.hktdc.com/aboutus.