Hospitality and Tourism

About 20 hotels with as many as 3,000 rooms are expected to be built in Hong Kong in 2013. The new hotels will need to hire people to help operate them. It is therefore foreseeable that hiring in the hotel industry will remain positive next year.

In fact, the industry is facing a talent war, given the shortage of qualified and experienced frontline staff. Some hotels have been forced to raise the starting salary on offer to attract young people to join the industry.

The industry is also having a problem finding people with passion and the right attitude when it comes to customer service. The hotel industry is a people industry, so possessing these two elements is of absolute importance.

With the first of two berths at the Kai Tak cruise terminal opening at the former airport site – the first berth is expected to start operations in mid-2013 – even more tourists, especially from the booming cruise-ship industry, are expected to flood into Hong Kong. This is more good news for the sector and should have a positive effect on the hotel industry here.

Dr Eric Chan, assistant professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Polytechnic University
As told to Chiu Po-sze