Media OutReach
Hong Kong Tourism Board Remixes Business Events with World-Class Gastronomy at Wine & Dine Festival
Blending mega events appeal with business opportunities and MICE visitors are invited to top-class wine-pairing experiences; in tandem, the HKTB launches new products to drive high-yield MICE tourism.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 October 2025 – The annual flagship “Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival” returns this year (23-26 October) with the vibrant theme “REMIX. BEST OF ALL WORLDS.” The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) took the opportunity to solidify Hong Kong’s reputation as a world-class epicurean capital and premier destination for business and leisure.
The HKTB unveiled a series of strategic initiatives designed to engage high-yield visitors, and invited convention and exhibition visitors and travel agents from nine strategic markets to join in the festival. An exclusive sommelier wine-pairing private tour was arranged and an annual top agent award gala dinner was hosted to drive high-yield tourism and maximise the impact of mega events.
Along with the mega experience enhancement, the HKTB captured the opportunity to launch new incentive products in the “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0: New Discovery Product Update” on 24 October at Ocean Park Marriott Hotel, to drive high-yield MICE tourism.
MICE Meets Gastronomy: Top Agents Celebrate with Master Chefs’ Tasting Menu at Gala Dinner
The HKTB hosted over 80 top-tier travel agents from nine short-haul markets – Chinese Mainland, India, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and The Philippines for a familiarisation trip from 22 October to 27 October, offering them a taste of the new incentive products in town, as well as recognising their achievements in bringing incentive groups to Hong Kong for the past year.
To celebrate their success, the HKTB hosted the prestigious “Toast to Success: Hong Kong Top Travel Agents Celebration & Gala Dinner”, where guests savoured an exquisite Cantonese dinner crafted by five master chefs, while being recognised for their roles in promoting Hong Kong. This underscored the city’s dual appeal as a global gastronomic hub and MICE powerhouse.
Jennifer Ma, Executive President of Grand China MICE Holdings Co. Ltd., remarked that corporate groups from Chinese Mainland place particular importance on food, making the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival highly attractive to them. Participants can enjoy wine, and the format of the event allows them to deeply experience a sense of integration with local Hong Kong life. It also offers a cultural experience that blends East and West. “This kind of opportunity is especially popular among many young people in Chinese enterprises”, she noted. Additionally, she mentioned that the upgraded Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0 together with its new ‘Empowerment’ theme and HKTB’s curated familiarisation trip in Hong Kong provided insights into many new tourism resources, such as events and venues, which will help Chinese Mainland enterprises better plan future MICE travel activities to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0: New Discovery Product Updates to Refresh Appeal
Coinciding with the Festival, HKTB unveiled the upgraded “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0: New Discovery” on 24 October at a gathering of close to 300 agents and industry partners. Expanding on the first edition’s success, Playbook 2.0 delivers 200+ fresh experiences, from fencing workshops and billiard masterclasses to tours of grand auction houses, iconic movie sets and traditional Chinese temples, immersing MICE travellers in Hong Kong’s vibrant culture. Two new themes —Cruise and Empowerment— have been added to broaden itinerary possibilities, blending team-building thrills with personal enrichment and taking the excitement to the sea, ensuring both professional growth and unforgettable moments in Victoria Harbour. Some of the ideas were curated for a sneak peek during the mega familiarisation trip from 22-27 October.
Ornnichcha Chomraka of Bonus Travel, Thailand said that the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, held in late October, coincides with public holidays in Thailand, making it an ideal time for Thai food lovers to visit Hong Kong and enjoy the experience. She also observed a growing interest among companies in cruise tourism products. Many cruises operating out of Hong Kong include itineraries that visit other countries and regions, which helps her company expand and enrich its MICE travel offerings — for example, combining a two-day Hong Kong land itinerary with a cruise voyage.
Convention and Exhibitions Visitors Staying Longer for Wine & Dine Thrills
To highlight the city’s seamless integration of business events and leisure experiences, the HKTB invited thousands of conventions and exhibition visitors from six business events to join the Festival 2025. The events spanned five key sectors – Legal Services, Aviation, Financial Services, Manufacturing and Trade. The allure of the vibrant Wine & Dine Festival encouraged overseas participants to prolong their stay, in order to explore and experience Hong Kong fully.
Thematic website of “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0”: https://www.hkincentiveplaybook.com
Thematic video of “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0 – New Discovery” (English version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-rOJSZTD5Y
Thematic video of “Hong Kong Incentive Playbook 2.0 – New Discovery” (Simplified Chinese version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFag1XULpHQ
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GoTyme Bank becomes the first digital bank in the Philippines to enable Apple Pay, expanding secure and seamless digital payments for 10 million customers
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 August 2026 – Paymentology, the leading global issuer processor, today announced the successful launch of Apple Pay for GoTyme Bank in the Philippines. Through this launch, GoTyme becomes one of the first issuers in the Philippine market to enable Apple Pay, giving 10 million customers an easy, secure and private way to pay using their Apple devices.
As one of the country’s fastest-growing digital banks, GoTyme continues to accelerate its digital payments strategy by expanding secure, seamless and convenient payment experiences for Filipino consumers. Customers can now securely add their GoTyme debit card to Apple Wallet and make contactless payments in stores, within apps and online wherever Apple Pay is accepted.
Apple Pay uses industry-leading tokenisation technology, meaning card numbers are never stored on devices or shared with merchants. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, with every transaction authenticated through Face ID, Touch ID or a device passcode, providing an additional layer of security while delivering a fast, frictionless checkout experience.
Nate Clark, President and CEO at GoTyme Bank commented: “At GoTyme Bank, we’re constantly looking for ways to make banking simpler, safer and more rewarding for our customers. Bringing Apple Pay to GoTyme Bank customers in the Philippines gives them an easy and secure way to pay wherever they shop while continuing to earn rewards points on all their transactions. This is another step in our commitment to making everyday banking more beautiful and convenient for our customers.
The launch comes as digital payments continue to reshape the Philippine economy. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), digital payments now account for more than half of all retail payment transactions, as consumers increasingly embrace mobile-first banking and contactless payments. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration continues to rise, supporting growing demand for digital wallets and tokenised payment experiences. As digital commerce accelerates, enabling secure mobile payments through services such as Apple Pay is becoming an increasingly important differentiator for financial institutions.
Minh-Ha Truong, Head of Growth, APAC at Paymentology, added: “As a long-standing partner to GoTyme, we’re proud to support another significant milestone in its growth journey. Bringing Apple Pay to market demonstrates how modern, cloud-native issuer processing enables digital banks to rapidly deliver innovative payment experiences while maintaining the highest standards of security, scalability and performance. Together, we’re helping shape the future of digital payments in the Philippines.”
The launch further strengthens GoTyme’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital banks and highlights the value of Paymentology’s cloud-native issuer processing platform in helping banks and fintechs rapidly introduce innovative payment capabilities that meet evolving customer expectations.
Hashtag: #Paymentology
https://www.paymentology.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/paymentology/
https://x.com/Paymentology
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Media OutReach
New Documentary Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun From Discovery to Debut on August 20 in Southeast Asia
Set against the sun-drenched landscapes of southern Taiwan, Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun highlights how the people of Liugdui have thrived alongside the land for over 300 years. Following local scholars, farmers, and artisans, the documentary explores how this community adapts its deep-rooted traditions—from water stewardship to food heritage—in response to environmental and economic change, offering vital modern insights on sustainability, rural revitalization, and cultural continuity.
Across three episodes—Water, agriculture, and food—the documentary explores how the people of Liugdui blend tradition with modern innovation. Viewers meet groundwater experts, farmers pioneering sustainable crops, and artisans repurposing local materials like betel nut, alongside culinary practitioners who preserve Hakka identity through ancestral rituals, communal feasts, and family traditions that unite generations.
Audiences will discover a community that views tradition not as something fixed in the past, but as a living legacy that continues to evolve. From innovative groundwater management and botanical dyeing to ritual feasts and modern interpretations of Hakka cuisine – the documentary celebrates the creativity, resilience, and values that have sustained Liugdui for centuries.
Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun premieres in Southeast Asia on Discovery Channel, Thursday, August 20 at 7:10pm; TLC Channel, Monday, August 24 at 7:10pm; and Discovery Asia, Tuesday, August 25 at 9:25pm.
Hashtag: #Discovery
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About Discovery Channel
The launch press conference broke away from tradition with a vibrant runway show featuring celebrity “Hot Spring Travel Navigators,” including acclaimed chef Edward Lee from Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, visual identity creative director Yen Po-Chun, TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Taiwan Chairman Kazuma Otsuka, and actor-host Andrew Chau. Together with local businesses, they showcased regional agriculture, specialties, and lifestyle products.
The official launch celebration kicks off on September 4 at Guguan Park in Taichung, featuring a themed parade with over 500 participants and the lighting ceremony for the Lishan–Guguan Light Art Festival, which stars a massive eight-meter “OhBear” light installation. The festivities continue on September 5 with a guided tribal trekking tour in Guguan, offering participants an exclusive NT$500 accommodation discount.
To promote four-season wellness tourism globally, the campaign partners with the East Asia Hot Spring Association for an international symposium on September 4. Key promotions also include complimentary LINE POINTS for new followers, curated packages starting at NT$299, and a flash sale of 800 limited NT$1 Hot Spring Vouchers for the Double 11 Shopping Festival. Furthermore, cross-sector collaborations offer half-price entry to national forest areas, limited-edition Taiwan Railway bento boxes, and Guanziling mud spring skincare products to enrich the travel experience.Hashtag: #TaiwanFourSeasonSprings
https://www.trimt-nsa.gov.tw/zh-tw/
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