Words just cannot describe the joy of many booklovers

Alysha Bibi

Thousands of citizens and tourists flocked to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday as the annual Hong Kong Book Fair kicked off its seven-day run at 10am.

The earliest arrival was a dedicated bookworm, Tou, who planted his spot outside the venue as early as 5am - over four hours before the opening alongwith a number of mainland tourgroups. Tou, who has been religiously attending the book fair, was accompanied by his two equally avid book-loving friends, Wong and Li.

"I got a day off from work just to come here," Tou told The Standard. "I arrived at 5am and slept right outside the convention center entrance."

The trio expected to spend around HK$1,000 each at the fair.

Li, a devoted fan of former Miss Hong Kong, Skye Chan Sin-yeung, said she came specifically to buy Chan's latest book on weight loss.Chan is also active on social media and YouTube, widely popular for her weight loss transformation and tips.

"People will be given a goodie bag when they buy her book. The souvenir is limited, and given on a first-come first-served basis, and that's the only reason I came this early," Li said.

She added she had lost 32 pounds in just five months by following Chan's plan, without having to drastically cut down on food.

Chan will be coming to the exhibition in-person for book signing on Saturday, according to Li, who says she will be making a second visit just for Chan's autograph.

Exhibitors, meanwhile, shared mixed reactions on visitor turnout.

Ng, manager at Publisher Marketing, was confident the number of visitors would be similar to or higher than that of previous years, barring any unfavorable weather like a typhoon.

Representatives from various consulates, including Kuwait, Turkey, Spain, Indonesia and the Philippines, were also present at the book fair, aligning with this year's theme of "Reading the World: Storytelling from Page to Screen" by showcasing their countries' popular books and movie adaptations.

Despite some exhibitors noting a slightly quieter start compared to last year, the fair still drew in large crowds, especially on the fifth floor where a wide array of food offerings and generous discounts attracted attendees.

"There are a lot of different varieties of food to buy," said Au, a 15-year-old girl who was there with two of her friends.

A salesman at Golden Long Food Trading, which was offering ready-to-eat individually packaged ham at the exhibition, expressed disappointment with the visitor turnout.

"Compared to last year's first day, the number of people has definitely reduced and it is a lot quieter," the salesman noted.

Meanwhile, the Dezko International company was giving out generous sales on Malaysian-virgin drinks and popular confections to fair attendees, such as HK$110 for four boxes of cookies with a freebie on the side.

"I am expecting somewhat of a crowd, especially since it is the summer holidays and many kids are on vacation," shared Dezko, adding it expected that the potentially unfavorable weather forecast would have a minimal impact on visitor numbers.

"Since the expo is indoors and also connected by two MTR stations, even in the case of rain, people might prefer coming here than engaging in outdoor activities," it said.