Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

H ong Kong, with its unique cultural heritage and geographical position, has traditionally been a must-see on the agenda of many travellers. For this reason, it has a well- developed hospitality industry which has for decades been a source of pride and of revenue for the city. Here, one finds some of the best hotels and services in the world catering to tourists and business people. The Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the subsequent economic downturn ushered in a two-year spell of sluggish business, but by the turn of the century, both the hotel and service sectors have been showing signs of a comeback. The HKSAR Government is also determined to revive the hospitality and tourism industry by creating the new position of Commissioner for Tourism to oversee the tourism industry, and by announcing in late 1999 the construction of the Disneyland Theme Park on Lantau Island as a major tourist attraction. New Blood for the Industry The Chinese University fully realizes it has an importan t role to play in helping to revive tourism and sustain Hong Kong's competitiveness in the global hospitality and tourism industry. Plans to set up a School o f Ho t el Management began a few years back in the Faculty o f Business Administration, and the school came into being in 1997, w i th an objectiv e to nurture business- o r i e n t e d m a n a g e rs w e l l - v e r s e d i n t h e contemporary hotel and hospitality industry. It r e c r u i t ed its f i r st class of 50 undergraduate students last September, and, for the 2 0 0 0 - 1 academic year, it has received clos e to 4,000 applications f o r the 50 places it offers. I t is confident that new blood w i l l be injected into the industry in three years' time. A High-powered Advisory Committee The school's advisory committee, which hel d its inaugural meeting on 5th May 2000, comprises leaders and top corporate-level executive s o f leading organizations or hotel chains, including Ocean Park, The Peninsula Ho ng Ko n g, The Regent H o n g K o n g , Sh a n g r i - La Ho t e ls and Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Arthur A n d e r s en & Co ., Th e H o n g K o n g T o u r i st Association, Hong Kong Hotels Association, and the Federatio n o f Ho n g K o n g Ho t e l Owners. A c c o r d i ng t o Prof. K o Wang, director of the school ， it is the strongest advisor y committee any Students of the School of Hotel Management and their teachers