07 August 2014 - The Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA), represented by Rex Book Store, Inc., was one of the exhibitors at the 2014 Hong Kong Book Fair, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) from July 16 to 22 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Philippine Consulate General provided tourism materials and posters to spruce up PEPA’s booth. Consul General Bernardita Catalla visited the booth and shared pointers she gathered from talks with officers of HKTDC. She also attended the Fair’s opening cocktail reception.
The Consul General encourages Filipino publishers to actively promote to the Hong Kong market Philippine publications and instructional materials. The HKTDC sees a big potential for children’s books and learning exercise materials especially for the ever-expanding Hong Kong book-reading public.
Last year, the Book Fair was visited by 980,000 prospective buyers, young and old alike. The organizers said an on-site survey found that the per capita spending at the fair was HK$987, up 25 percent over the previous year. To enhance their marketability, PEPA published educational books printed with translations in Cantonese/Putonghua to appeal to a bigger segment of Hong Kong’s reading market.
On its 25th year, 570 exhibitors from 31 countries and regions participated in the Book Fair. This year’s Book Fair attracted more than one million visitors. END