Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

I n his w e l c o m i ng speech, vice-chancellor Prof. A r t h u r K . C L i said that w i t h its o w n teachin g hotel, the School c o u ld offer n o t o n l y p r o g r ammes a t the u n d e r g r a d u a te level , b u t also t o p - n o t ch professiona l a n d executive t r a i n i ng courses for h i g h - p o w e r ed practitioners i n the field. T h e School can e x p e r i me nt w i t h n e w service ideas' n e w p r o d u c t s, a n d n e w systems,' he said . ' It can also e x p a nd the scope of its activities to i n c l u de c o n s u l t a n cy services f or relevant i n d u s t r i es o n the m a i n l a nd a n d i n other parts of Asia. It can aspire to b e c ome a r e g i o n al t r a i n i ng centre f or h o t el p r o p e r ty m a n a g e m e nt h o t el investment, a n d h o s p i t a l i t y - r e l a t ed services.' O n the same occasion, Dr. C h e ng Y u - t u n g of N e w W o r l d D e v e l o pme nt Co. L t d. expressed his de l i ght i n the c o l l a b o r a t i on a n d his belief t h at the teaching h o t el w o u l d be c o n d u c i ve to u p g r a d i ng the standard a n d i ma ge of the h o t el i n d u s t ry i n H o n g K o n g. ' I n the past, hoteliers learnt their p r o f e s s i on mo s t ly v i a on-the-job t r a i n i n g ,' Dr. C h e ng said. '(The t e a c h i ng h o t el project) w i l l c omb i ne t e x t b o ok k n o w l e d g e a n d on-the-job practice, e l e v a t i ng th e standards of o u r graduates w h o desire to enter the hotel i ndu s t r y. I t w i l l p r o v i de a g o o d t r a i n i ng p l a t f o rm f o r a s p i r i ng hoteliers.' Dr. A l i ce K.Y. L am, chai r of the Un i v e r s i ty Grants Comm i t t e e, s u p p o r t ed the project a n d called for greater collaboration b e t we en academia a nd the i n d u s t ry to benefit b o t h parties a nd H o n g K o n g as a whole. 'Such an u n d e r t a k i ng is indicative of the staunch s u p p o rt f r o m the i n d u s t ry itself for h o t el a n d hospitality education at the tertiary level. Wh i l e the U G C f u l l y backs a ny w o r t h y educational p r o g r amme that can develop a nd u p g r a de h u m a n capital fo r our c o mm u n i t y, w e always encourage the universities to solicit extra resources f r om the p r i v a te secto r to enhance the q u a l i ty of the education they offer.' The arrow shows the location of the new teaching hotel (computer rendition) The School of Hotel and Tourism Management Students on a food and beverage course Established in 1997, the School of Hotel and Tourism Ma n a g eme nt has w o r k ed closely w i t h the Hotel School of Cornell University an d the local hospitality and tourism industry to launch high quality and widely acclaimed programmes for the training of hotel professionals an d the p r omo t i on of executive e d u c a t i on a nd research. A n d t he Un i v e r s i ty has t a k en t h e initiative t o b u i ld a t e a c h i ng h o t el o n t h e Un i v e r s i ty c amp us in c o l l a b o r a t i on w i t h N e w Wo r ld D e v e l o pme nt Comp a n y Limited. To u r i sm plays an i m p o r t a nt role i n t h e e c o n omy of H o n g Kong. Located conveniently at t h e h e a rt of Asia a nd t h e g a t e w ay t o t he mainland, H o ng Kong has always been and will remain b o t h an international business h ub a nd a popular tourist destination. The aspiration of the School of Hotel and Tourism Ma n a g eme nt to develop into a regional centre of excellence in hotel ma n a g eme nt is in line w i t h t he H o n g Kong Government's vision to establish and p r omo te Ho ng Kong as Asia's premie r international city, and a world-class destination for leisure and business visitors. 27