Event Buzz
1.9m+ social impressions
Media Coverage
$223k media value
Live event
659k social reach
Situation
Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) set out to continue to drive Australian interest in Hong Kong as a world-class food tourism destination all year-round.
To do this, Linkd Tourism helped HKTB partner with one of Australia’s most influential culinary voices Andy Allen: MasterChef judge, chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and one of the country’s most recognisable TV hosts. Andy’s existing love for Hong Kong’s food scene established through his first visit in 2024 with MasterChef Australia, combined with his highly engaged social following, made him an influential and authentic key opinion leader to showcase Australians a taste of Hong Kong.
Action
The campaign aimed to showcase Hong Kong’s culinary diversity, positioning the city as a must-visit destination for Australian food enthusiasts. Its objectives were to increase awareness of Hong Kong’s food offerings, generate high-value media coverage and social engagement, and tell compelling stories that authentically highlighted the city’s culinary landscape.
Linkd Tourism helped HKTB partner with Andy Allen to create a multifaceted strategic campaign:
- Over a four-day immersive food trip, Andy experienced everything from the recently awarded World’s Best Bar, Bar Leone, and dining at Vicky Cheng’s multi-award-winning restaurant WING to traditional street markets and eateries. Andy was joined by his wife Alex, and together they also sampled the best of a couple’s itinerary to Hong Kong with cultural highlights including Victoria Harbour, The Peak and M+ Museum. Partners included Rosewood Hong Kong, recently named World’s Best Hotel 2025, and Hong Kong Airlines’ newly launched Hong Kong–Sydney route. Andy shared his journey through daily Instagram Stories and in-feed posts, providing engaging content that amplified the destination and its partners.
- After the trip, a ‘Taste of Hong Kong’ media event was hosted at Atlas Dining in Melbourne, featuring a bespoke five-course menu inspired by Hong Kong and a relaxed Q&A where Andy shared his experiences with 20 travel journalists and tastemakers. This was the second of the ‘Taste of Hong Kong’ event series with Linkd Tourism partnering HKTB with Melissa Leong for the first edition in 2024. Atlas Dining Chef Charlie Carrington also provided his own stories of Hong Kong (of which he has been more than 9 times) and the inspiration behind the bespoke menu making it a gourmet evening for foodies attending.
- High-value media coverage followed, including features in Good Food and WHO, further positioning Hong Kong as a culinary destination and telling insider culinary stories from Andy’s trip.
Andy’s authentic connection with Hong Kong, alongside his previous MasterChef filming experience, made him the ideal ambassador, bringing credibility and excitement to the campaign.
Results
Social Media Impact: Daily social posts reached 1.2M views on Andy’s Instagram Stories and more than 150K views on his Instagram Reels. Andy delivered 80 Instagram Stories (over 4 times the number booked) and his audience shared strong positive sentiment in their engagement with the content, demonstrating the genuine advocacy.
The Melbourne event brought together 21 travel writer and KOL friends and achieved estimated 659K social reach from attendee content shared on the night.
Media value: 2 articles featuring interviews with Andy were published and social posts from attendees at the event generated an estimated value of $223,466 which were all pitched and secured by Linkd Tourism.
This campaign successfully tapped into Andy Allen’s influence to position Hong Kong as a top food tourism destination.
HKTB Director, Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Karen Macmillan, said, “When promoting Hong Kong to Australians, we want to ensure our local key opinion leader and influencer activities reflect the culinary vibrancy of the city, as well as its elevated wining and dining scene. Andy Allen has been an incredible ambassador for Hong Kong during 2025 as he has lived and breathed our destination’s exceptional food offerings and visitor experiences.”
“WING would be in my top five best restaurants right now, and the whole trip was just incredible for me and my wife Alex,” said Andy Allen.
“We sampled heaps of unbelievable street vendor noodles and some pillowy hand-made tofu at the markets; then we visited other-worldly bars like COA for drinks with friends, and we dined on the best roast goose ever at Yat Lok. Oh, and Rosewood – probably the best hotel we’ve ever stayed in. Hong Kong is somewhere you can visit for a weekend or a week – I’ve been telling all my mates about it since we got back.”
