INFORMA MARKETS’ Connect Marketplace Hong Kong is returning after the trade show and conference debuted last year, with thought leadership firmly at the centre of its 2026 edition, say organisers.
Hospitality expert Greeley Koch and neuroscientist Andrée Jetté are set to deliver the opening-day keynotes for the event at AsiaWorld-Expo, March 18-19.
Koch, a professor at New York University’s Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality and Managing Director of 490 Consulting, will join Jetté, a specialist in using humour as a stress management technique.
Koch’s and Jetté’s keynote sessions will anchor an expanded content programme that organisers describe as a core pillar of the event’s value.
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A spokesperson for Informa Markets said the event’s focus on leadership, resilience and innovation reflected wider trends in the global events industry, where shifting client expectations and operational complexity required new approaches to professional development.
Connect Marketplace would also consolidate its role as a strategic platform for the MICE industry at a time of intensifying competition among regional destinations, the spokesperson said.
More than 300 brands and over 7,000 industry professionals are expected to attend, according to organisers, with about 3,000 one‑to‑one meetings scheduled over the two-day event.
The spokesperson said the event’s scale reflected rising demand for structured business‑development platforms within Asia Pacific, where organisers and suppliers sought greater certainty and efficiency as international travel patterns normalise following the pandemic.
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Networking remains a central feature of the event’s format. Delegates will have access to functions such as a “Networking Night” on the opening evening and a Gala Dinner the following night.
Following the main programme, selected delegates will join a fam trip designed to showcase Hong Kong’s venues, infrastructure and wider credentials as a business events destination.
Connect Marketplace 2026 would “go above and beyond, creating an experience that is welcoming, valuable, and empowering for industry professionals.” The spokesperson added that every aspect of the event, from structured meetings to its expanded thought‑leadership platform, has been designed to foster meaningful business connections and support long‑term industry growth.
According to organisers, the event’s blend of content, commerce and networking would position Connect Marketplace Hong Kong as an increasingly influential fixture in the regional MICE calendar to help shape the sector’s next phase of development.
Main picture… InvestHK’s Charles Ng joins Informa Markets executives at the opening of Connect Marketplace 2025
