Tourism & The Community
The development and promotion of tourism require the participation of everyone in the community. To engage people from all walks of life to support the tourism industry of Hong Kong, we organised and supported a variety of initiatives in 2017/18 and continued to maintain close connection with different sectors of the community. The HKTB encourages every member of the public to be Hong Kong’s tourism ambassador and promote Hong Kong as a hospitable city.
“Sam Mun Tsai Fishermen Culture Experience Tour”, a training and familiarisation activity was offered to the Hong Kong Pals. The Pals had the chance to learn a traditional fishermen dance during the tour.
Hong Kong Pals went to Nam Sang Wai for a bird-watching familiarisation tour.
A visiting family learnt to write a tradition Chinese New Year couplet “Fai Chun” in Chinese calligraphy.
Befriending our guests
Apart from traditional sightseeing activities, many visitors nowadays are eager to experience the authentic local culture. To better serve the needs of these visitors, we introduced a volunteer initiative “Meet the Pals” under the Hong Kong Pals programme. By giving personal recommendations, itinerary planning assistance and demonstration of local craftworks, the programme provides a platform for our pals from overseas to better experience the vivid Hong Kong culture and connect with the local people and the city.
Since the launch of the Hong Kong Pals programme nine years ago, we have recruited a team of over 70 passionate volunteers, more than 40 of whom have served as a Pal for over five years. New joiners in the Hong Kong Pals programme receive training and guidance from veteran Pals. Together, the team has provided over 10,200 hours of service to visitors and conducted over 220 meet-up sessions. The Pals’ dedication not only helped promote the authentic Hong Kong culture, but also received great compliments from visitors.
Over 200 students from various tertiary educational institutions were invited to the Hong Kong Tourism Overview organised by the HKTB. At the event, they gained a deeper understanding on the latest tourism development, market trends and HKTB’s initiatives, as well as insights from industry experts on the opportunities offered by the Greater Bay Area and the global economic outlook.
In support of the Hong Kong Young Ambassador Scheme organised by the Tourism Commission and the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam attended the Appointment and Awards Ceremony of the Scheme, in which 226 youngsters were appointed as Young Ambassadors to help promote Hong Kong to visitors.
The HKTB hosted a sharing session for tourism students from the Hong Kong Community College, introducing to them the HKTB’s strategies in promoting Hong Kong tourism.
HKTB Executive Director Mr Anthony Lau attended the prize presentation ceremony of the “2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development Art and Design Competition”, organised by Po Leung Kuk, as Guest of Honour to present awards to the winning students from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.
Nurturing the younger generation
Nurturing young talents is vital to the long-term development of tourism. To deepen the younger generation’s understanding of the tourism industry, the HKTB held a total of 12 lectures and sharing sessions at various educational institutions, including The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Community College of City University, HKU SPACE and the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education. In 2017/18, over 1,000 students were introduced to the latest development of the tourism industry and the HKTB’s strategic marketing, public relations and trade initiatives.
HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam attended the award presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong International Airport Customer Service Excellence Programme 2017 as an officiating guest to commend airport staff for their excellent customer service.
Invited by the Hong Kong Association for Customer Service Excellence, HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam attended the Service Appreciation Day kick-off ceremony to support the promotion of a service-appreciation culture.
HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam presented prizes to local shopping malls to commend them for providing excellent services at the Shopping Mall Awards 2017/18 presentation ceremony organised by the Hong Kong Economic Times.
The HKTB continued to support the Most Courteous Immigration Control Officers Election organised by the Immigration Department. The winner was appointed the Hong Kong Courtesy Ambassador in appreciation of his outstanding services.
The HKTB supported the Top Service Awards 2017 organised by Next Magazine and presented awards to corporations and staff in recognition of their quality service.
Promoting service excellence
The HKTB values the contributions of frontline staff in the service industry, which are indispensable to upholding Hong Kong’s image as a hospitable destination. To promote a culture of service excellence and make Hong Kong a home away from home for visitors, we supported a number of activities during the year.
HKTB Executive Director Mr Anthony Lau attended a roundtable luncheon organised by the Retail and Tourism Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and shared with the guests the HKTB’s investment strategies and latest promotion initiatives.
HKTB Executive Director Mr Anthony Lau delivered a keynote speech on sustainable tourism development at the opening ceremony of the 5th Annual Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association Asia-Pacific, organised by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Invited by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the HKTB supported the 3rd Global Tourism and Hospitality Conference (Hong Kong 2017), which served as an important networking platform for different sectors to exchange insights on global tourism and hospitality development.
Strengthening ties with various sectors
Collaboration among different stakeholders is the key to Hong Kong’s tourism development. In 2017/18, the HKTB continued to strengthen its relationship with stakeholders from various industries and organisations, including members of the travel trade, Legislative Council, chambers of commerce and scholars, to foster a good understanding on the HKTB’s works and the exchange of views on tourism promotions.
