Sustainable Tourism Development
The HKTB is committed to our responsibility in social aspects of tourism development, environmental and corporate governance.
Nurturing Future Tourism Talents
On the social and communal front, the HKTB is also committed to nurturing young talents with the aim to support the sustainable growth of the local tourism industry. As such, the Aspire Management Trainee Programme and the HKTB Youth Academy were launched in 2021 respectively, to groom local youths’ interest in tourism development and leverage their innovation to inject new momentum into the industry.
Aspire Management Trainee Programme
First launched in early 2021, the Aspire Management Trainee Programme has successfully recruited 11 passionate talents through the highly competitive selection process. With job rotations across different functions, coupled with Mainland and overseas placements across the 3-year intensive programme, it is hoped that these young professionals would inspire a culture of innovation in the industry and contribute to a sustainable future of Hong Kong’s tourism.
HKTB Youth Academy – Educational Programmes
For 2 consecutive years, the HKTB has partnered with local universities in Hong Kong to groom undergraduate students to become the city’s tourism ambassadors. Selected students were trained to be virtual tour guides to provide fellow incoming exchange students with curated tours around Hong Kong’s neighbourhoods virtually, as they were not able to come to Hong Kong in person during the pandemic. Close to 50 virtual tour guides were recruited, with over 400 overseas students from mainland and 26 countries world-wide participating in the tours cumulatively.
HKTB Youth Academy - Creative Art Projects
Following the launch of the “Hong Kong Neighbourhood – West Kowloon” in 2021, the HKTB conducted a series of guided tours and creative art workshops to inspire local youths to appreciate and honour Hong Kong’s tourism appeals innovatively. The HKTB trained over 40 of Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups’ Youth Ambassadors to deliver guided tours around the neighbourhood for close to 500 primary and secondary school students, including ethnic minority students. This was coupled with over 40 art workshops held in partnership with the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts of the Education University of Hong Kong, where student artists from the university led the primary and secondary school students to recreate signature West Kowloon landmarks via different art mediums.
Promoting Historical and Cultural Heritage
In addition to nurturing future talents for the tourism industry, the HKTB also contributed to raising the awareness of the city’s invaluable cultural heritage through promotions and campaigns. The “Hong Kong Neighbourhood – West Kowloon” campaign, for instance, incorporated elements of both tangible heritage, such as time-tested architecture, and intangible heritage of various artisanal craftsmanship, with a view to demonstrating the city’s unique local heritage through tourism.
Go Green at Events
We are dedicated to environmental sustainability and has launched a series of green policies in designing new tourism products and mega events. The HKTB has specially stepped up its effort in driving digital transformation and green event practices this year.
Digital Transformation
The HKTB has underpinned digital transformation as one of its key initiatives in recent years. At Wine & Dine 2021, the HKTB partnered with Hong Kong’s leading online ticket platforms to launch digital tasting passes in replacement of traditional paper tokens in an effort to go paperless. The HKTB is also developing an integrated e-platform to facilitate upcoming offers distribution and programme participation in a convenient and environmentally friendly manner.
Minimise Event Waste
Besides the long-term commitment to the Green Event Pledge by the Environmental Protection Department, the HKTB has taken a further step this year to transform remaining event materials from the FriendsWithYou outdoor exhibition installations in “Hong Kong Neighbourhood – West Kowloon” and gave them a second life. The inflatable art installations were disassembled and transformed into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) scraps, and a local environmental company was commissioned by the HKTB to monitor and certify the whole process closely.
Green Office
On top of the close adherence of green event practices, the HKTB also strives to embody sustainability across various touchpoints in the organisation’s day-to-day operation through recycling, providing sustainable alternatives and maximising energy conservation.
Recycling
The HKTB has initiated a company-wide effort to foster sustainable practices with the provision of recycling bins across all levels at the Head Office, from which the collected waste will be processed at the local community recycling centre “Green in Tin Hau”. It is hoped that improved accessibility of the facilities will encourage colleagues to adopt and embed recycling habits into their everyday lives.
Sustainable Alternatives
To further reduce the production of waste, the HKTB has opted out of disposable plastic and paperware at the office, and only provides reusable tableware in meeting rooms, joining on the organisation’s commitment to go green at the workplace.
Energy Conservation
HKTB has consistently operated a centralised electrical automation system to switch off any air-conditioning after office hours, with increased advocacy around the office to encourage light and AC energy saving practices.
Corporate Governance
Details of the HKTB’s governance of 2021/22, including “structure and board management” and “internal control and compliance”, are listed in the section “About HKTB – Corporate information”.