Organisers of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair have said that they are not letting the “special circumstances” in the city deter them from delivering the “best possible” show for both exhibitors and visitors. Further, they are “fine-tuning contingency plans”, “investing extra resources in marketing” and have obtained confirmation that there is no change in policies of insurance companies in relation to public incidents.

Responding to an appeal issued by GJEPC, AWDC and IDI for a postponement of the show, Celine Lau, Director of Jewellery Fairs at Informa Markets stated "we have not received demands for cancellation as stated in your letter", and also that they continue to receive visitor pre-registrations on a daily basis. “Rumours about the fair’s alleged cancellation/postponement have in fact drawn more active inquiries on the show’s exhibitor profile and contents,” she added.

She also provided some additional updates on the situation in the city, drawing attention to some “positive signs” such as:

• The demonstration held this past Sunday was a peaceful one, and concluded without any violence or clashes with the police

• The Airport Authority has obtained a court injunction to ensure that the airport’s operations will not be affected by protest actions

• The Hong Kong Government has declared it is committed to “creating a platform for dialogue” with various sectors of society

• The HKTDC Food Expo and its concurrent fairs attracted 2,100 exhibitors and drew nearly 450,000 visitors.

Further, Lau said they had received confirmation from both Malca-Amit and Brinks that there is NO change in the insurance policy in relation to the public incidents in Hong Kong and that the companies are actively serving exhibitors from Antwerp, Israel, India and the US.

This was independently also confirmed to Indian exhibitors in a letter circulated within the industry by Uday Chinai, CMD, BVC-Brinks who categorically stated, “Liability coverage remains in place for Riots and Civil Commotion risks for transit to and from the Exhibition, storage at Brinks’ HK facility and our at-show liability. The terms and conditions of our contract remain the same as nothing had changed at the moment.”

He further pointed out that the cargo terminals at HK airport have not been affected by the recent protests and the Company’s services and operations across HK continue to run as normal. He added that they have been coordinating with the show organisers for their emergency plan protocols too.

In her letter to the GJEPC, AWDC and IDI, Lau expressed the hope that the information provided “has alleviated most of your concerns on safety and insurance, and that you would give your 100-percent participation to the September Fair”. She asserted that Informa Markets was working in close partnership with the venue management teams, vendors and suppliers in fine-tuning the contingency plans that are in place for virtually every scenario during the different phases of the show.

Lau also said, “Special transportation arrangements for 1) visitors from China, 2) visitors commuting between select hotels and fair venues, and 3) visitors commuting between different destinations within the city are all in place and have been reinforced. Our visitor promotion campaign is in full swing with …. many delegations (having) already confirmed their attendance, including groups from Poland, Vietnam, South America, Russia and China, to name a few.”

In conclusion she noted that the last three quarters have been quite challenging for the industry, and so exhibitors, buyers and stakeholders across the entire business spectrum are fully engaged to get the most out of the September Fair, which is the last international fair on the jewellery trade show calendar.

She also announced that regular updates on the situation are available on the fair’s official website (https://exhibitions.jewellerynet.com/9jg/en-us/) as well as on social media platforms.