Hong Kong’s tourism chief said the city’s hospitality industry has been tarnished by a few bad actors on social media and the three-year-old pandemic, and the government needs to launch a campaign to move the industry forward.
“What we are looking for is a spirit of service. We are keen to welcome tourists wholeheartedly. Whether it’s attracting tourists or enhancing Hong Kong’s image, it will set a good example for Hong Kong,” Yeung Wan Hung, secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, said on Monday.
“The vast majority of service industry workers are very polite and eager to serve customers,” he added, “but there have been some isolated incidents that have been shared on social media, creating misunderstandings.”
Yen was speaking at the launch of the government’s “Let’s go the Extra Mile” campaign, a series of initiatives aimed at improving Hong Kong’s notoriously poor service, including a roughly two-minute video featuring film stars such as Louis Koo Tin-lok and Stephy Tang Lai-yan.
Yen said there was no new funding for the campaign — the videos produced by the tourism bureau are included in its annual budget, and the education bureau and interior ministry also contributed existing funds to the campaign.
“this is, [the drive] “This is a long-term plan. It’s not something that will be finished in three to five months. We hope that this will be a long-term effort that involves people from all walks of life,” Yen added.
Yen noted that the plan has no short-term success measure, but the long-term goal is for everyone to “feel different” when they go out to shop or dine.
“Depending on the situation in Hong Kong, the government will launch such campaigns from time to time,” Yang said.
“There are several reasons why we launched this campaign. Firstly, cross-border travel resumed last year. Prior to that, the sector had been dormant for three years,” he said.
Yen also noted that stories of poor service providers have been circulating on social media, raising concerns about Hong Kong as a tourist-friendly destination.
Changing tourism patterns have led to many tourists visiting non-traditional destinations, and some service providers there may need a “cautionary boost” as they previously only catered to locals, he said.
As part of the initiative, Hong Kong athletes-turned-celebrities Kevin Chew Kam-ying and Tony Wu Zhi-tung have also been invited to feature in the two-minute video.
The Hong Kong Taxi Association will deploy ambassadors at taxi ranks to encourage drivers to treat passengers with courtesy. Photo: Mei Tse
Meanwhile, the city’s taxi industry will begin a three-month courtesy initiative from June 5 to improve its reputation by stationing ambassadors at taxi ranks, including airports and border checkpoints, and encouraging drivers to treat passengers courteously.
Every Tuesday and Thursday from June 11 to August 29, four to six ambassadors will visit taxi stands around the city to hand out pamphlets and souvenirs to taxi drivers.
According to official statistics, complaints and suggestions about taxi services rose 52.8% in 2023 from 2022 to 11,096, with taxi drivers refusing to give rides and overcharging passengers being the top complaints.
The Hong Kong Taxi Association said the initiative was primarily aimed at educating drivers and its success was difficult to measure.
