The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners welcomes the Chief Executive's second Policy Address. We commend the government for its commitment to addressing the pressing issues and setting forth a comprehensive policy agenda for the betterment of our community.

The Policy Address serves as a roadmap for the government's priorities and initiatives, providing a clear direction for the future development of Hong Kong. We are pleased to see the government's dedication to tackling the challenges faced by our society, and we appreciate the emphasis placed on key areas that are of significant importance to our Federation.

The New Policy Address 2023 presents an opportunity for collaboration and engagement between the government and various stakeholders, including our Federation. We are eager to actively participate in the implementation of the proposed policies and initiatives, as well as contribute our expertise and resources to support their success.

We particularly applaud the government incorporated the following list of recommendations previously submitted by the Federation:

Develop the "Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry 2.0" to optimize coordination between various fields and tourism development;

Promote smart tourism (eTourism) development, establish an inter-departmental Working Group on Smart Tourism;

Develop signature tourism products, including giving play to Hong Kong's advantages in marine tours;

Continue to bid for large-scale international conventions and exhibitions through Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and promote subsidy schemes to attract meetings, exhibitions and incentive travel activities to be held in Hong Kong;

HKTB will continue to liaise with different event organizers to support hosting large-scale popular events in Hong Kong;

The Government continues to promote the development of the convention and exhibition (C&E) industry;

Enhance cross-boundary mutual recognition of qualifications – the government will work with the relevant Mainland authorities on the arrangements for mutual recognition of sub-degree level qualifications, including higher diploma qualifications, and will put the arrangement on trial for selected pilot areas;

Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme – To alleviate the manpower shortage in skilled trades, starting from the 2024/25 admission cohort, non-local students of designated full-time professional Higher Diploma programmes of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong for one year after graduation to seek jobs relevant to their disciplines.

In addition, the Federation also announced to have supported the recent Open Data Hackathon 2023 organised by the HKtag, co-organised by Cyberport and sponsored by OGCIO.  This event encouraged innovative use of public open data to enrich the tourism sector through technology.