Hong Kong's tourism industry depends heavily on support from the community. We want Hong Kong to be one of the most memorable stops in our visitors' lifelong journey. For this reason, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched the "Hong Kong Pals" volunteer programme since 2009, which is an initiative to invite members of the community who are passionate about Hong Kong to be "pals" of visitors, offering personal tips and recommendations on travelling in and about the city.
Currently, there are close to 70 pals working as volunteers in the HKTB's four Visitor Centres and at HKTB mega events. These passionate locals provide personalised travel recommendations to travelers who wish to obtain in-depth experience of Hong Kong culture.
With the growing popularity of experiential tourism, visitors have become more curious about our local culture. In 2014, the HKTB set up a new, free service under this volunteer programme, called "Meet-the-Pals". By making an online appointment, visitors can meet some of the Hong Kong Pals at our two in-town visitor centres and get information on a range of interesting topics, from Chinese paper craft and butterfly-watching to the hidden treasures around the Central-to-Mid-Levels escalator. The programme has been well received by visitors. Please refer to http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/about-hktb/hktb-and-the-community/hong-kong-pals.jsp for a list of the interesting topics.
Strategy
We put ample resources into recruiting, training and retaining the volunteers to ensure that the Hong Kong Pals programme can achieve its objectives. The Hong Kong Pals whom we recruited share the same values and views as the HKTB – to provide the best service to visitors and make their trip an unforgettable one.
With years of effort, the Hong Kong Pals volunteer group has grown into a small community. Our Pals come from all walks of life, such as housewives, retired civil servants, architects, flight attendants, social workers and teachers. They are all passionate about Hong Kong and eager to share their personal recommendations with visitors. Visitors can get a deeper understanding of Hong Kong and explore the city like a local through interacting with these volunteers.
Implementation
Recruiting enthusiastic volunteers: We launched extensive recruitment activities through local communities and organisations, media channels, local volunteer organisations, government departments and youth group communities etc. To raise public awareness, we also arrange news features in newspaper and on the radio during the recruitment period. These channels and strategies help us recruit a great team of volunteers to make every traveller's trip to Hong Kong one that they will never forget.
Broad training: After recruitment, we arrange the "Hong Kong Pals" to attend a series of training activities, supported by different tourism attractions and organizations. The activities cover a variety of topics, such as local culture and history, shopping and dining, architecture, attractions and green tourism. These activities equip the volunteers with tourism product knowledge and enrich their personal experience, so that they can share their recommendations confidently with visitors.
On-the-job support and volunteer sharing: We also organise on-the-job training activities once the pals commence service, and arrange regular meet-ups and sharing sessions, so that the volunteers can share and exchange their experiences with each other.
Volunteer sustainability: Over 60% of the Hong Kong Pals have been serving for the programme for over five years. It is sustained by the great morale and their individual devotion to Hong Kong and the programme.
Continuous programme enhancement: We note the growing trend of experiential tourism, and more visitors are interested in getting to know more about our local culture. As such we saw a need to extend our services. In 2014, we set up a new, free service under this volunteer programme, called "Meet-the-Pals". By making an online appointment, visitors can meet some of the Hong Kong Pals at either of our two in-town visitor centres and get more information on a range of interesting topics, from Chinese paper craft and butterfly-watching to the hidden treasures around the Central-to-Mid-Levels escalator.
The programme has proved to be successful in the following areas:
The involvement of passionate locals in the Hong Kong tourism industry helps create positive word-of-mouth effect among Hongkongers. When working with the HKTB, these volunteers gain a better understanding on our work and promotion strategies. They demonstrate hospitality to visitors when they perform their volunteer duties at the Visitor Centres and they extend this passion to their daily lives.
The reputation of a city is the collective effort of every citizen. If every one of us presents Hong Kong in its best light, Hong Kong can be the most desirable destination in the world.
Canny Ma, Hong Kong Pal
