LCQ7: Encouraging employment of elderly and middle-aged persons in tourism industry
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Question:
It is learnt that as the number of visitors to Hong Kong has been picking up gradually, the accelerated transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry in Hong Kong are underway. However, the industry is still experiencing manpower shortages of varying degrees in multiple areas, such as hotels, tour guides, operation of tourist attractions, ancillary transport facilities supporting tourism, logistic support, thereby affecting the tourist receiving capacity. On the other hand, quite a number of elderly, middle-aged and retired persons in Hong Kong possess extensive work experience, and some of them are willing to re-enter the workforce on a full-time, part-time, or flexible working basis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective breakdowns of the number of employed persons and employment rates by age group (i.e. people aged between 40 and 44, 45 and 49, 50 and 54, 55 and 59, 60 and 64, and those aged 65 or above) in the past two years; among them, the numbers and percentages of those employed in the tourism industry;
(2) of the respective numbers of applications, approvals and successful job placements under the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) and the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (the Pilot Scheme) in relation to participants from each of the age groups mentioned in (1) in the past two years; among which, the number of cases involving positions in tourism industry (including hotels, airlines, travel agencies, tour guides, operation of tourist attractions, ancillary transport facilities supporting tourism);
(3) whether the Government will review the major eligibility criteria for the Pilot Scheme (i.e. applicants must have not engaged in any paid work for three consecutive months or more before joining the Pilot Scheme) to fully encourage and unleash the labour force to re-enter the job market;
(4) whether the Government will, in response to the emergence of thematic tourism, such as silver tourism, in-depth cultural tours, industrial tourism, green eco-tourism, sustainable tourism, encourage collaboration among the tourism sector, vocational training bodies and the relevant departments in offering targeted training courses for elderly, middle-aged and retired persons, and explore provision of additional or enhanced on-the-job training allowance to help them acquire the necessary skills and professional qualifications;
(5) whether the Government will consider further streamlining the application and approval processes under the EPEM, in particular to reduce the administrative burden on small and medium-sized travel agencies, tourist attraction operators, and tourism-related businesses, in order to provide additional incentives for the industry to hire elderly and middle-aged persons; and
(6) whether the Government will work with the Labour Department, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Vocational Training Council, and the tourism sector to relax the current requirement by conducting the surveys on manpower demand and manpower update in the tourism industry at more regular intervals from once every four years to once a year or once every two years, and to formulate tailored manpower development strategies for the tourism industry based on manpower gaps in various job categories, such as hotels, airlines, travel agencies, tour guides, operation of tourist attractions, transport and logistic support, so as to incorporate the re-employment of elderly and middle-aged persons into the long-term plan for manpower development in the tourism industry?
Reply:
President,
The Government encourages people of various age groups, including older and middle-aged persons as well as retired individuals, to join different areas of the tourism industry to give play to their talents, and jointly promote the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
In consultation with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), and the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), a consolidated reply to the Member's question is provided as follows:
(1) In 2024 and 2025, a breakdown of numbers of employed persons, unemployed persons and unemployment rates in Hong Kong by specified age groups is set out at Annex 1. The C&SD does not maintain statistics on a breakdown of employment figures by the tourism industry. Annex 1 provides the breakdown of relevant figures by the retail, accommodation and food services industries which are closely related to consumption and tourism activities.
(2) The Labour Department (LD) implements the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged (EPEM) to encourage employers to hire persons aged 40 or above and provide them with on-the-job training (OJT). Upon completion of employees' OJT under the EPEM, employers may apply for a maximum OJT allowance of $5,000 per month for three to 12 months for each employee. In 2024 and 2025, EPEM recorded 4 443 and 4 491 eligible placements respectively.
The LD launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme (REA Scheme) in July 2024 to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been in any paid work for three consecutive months or more to rejoin the employment market. Each eligible participant who has worked full-time for six consecutive months will be provided with re-employment allowance (REA) of $10,000, while those who have worked full-time for 12 consecutive months will be given an additional allowance of $10,000. Half-rate REA will be given to those who have worked part-time. Each eligible participant may receive a maximum REA of $20,000 during the implementation of the REA Scheme. The response to the REA Scheme is very favourable, with 63 900 participants and 36 237 placements recorded in total during 2024 to 2025.
Statistics on the EPEM and the REA Scheme for the past two years are set out at Annex 2 and Annex 3. The LD does not keep breakdowns of the figures by the tourism industry. The Annexes provide the breakdowns of relevant figures by the restaurants and hotels industry which is closely related to the tourism industry.
(3) To encourage the potential labour force of older and middle-aged persons to join the employment market, the REA Scheme specifies that participants shall not have been engaged in any paid work for three consecutive months or more before joining the Scheme. The LD is conducting a mid-term review of the REA Scheme, along with the EPEM, to explore appropriate measures to encourage the employment of older and middle-aged persons.
(4) and (5) To attract more talents to join the tourism industry, the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) is actively implementing various measures under the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0) to enhance talent development. These include launching the specialised tourist guide licensing programme, under which specialised tourist guide (STG) licences are issued covering individual professional areas to encourage individuals with specialised knowledge to become specialised tourist guides. This STG licensing programme will facilitate older and middle-aged persons as well as retired individuals who often possess extensive knowledge of history and culture, and with rich life exposure and a strong wish to serve, to join the tourism industry as specialised tourist guides in specific fields.
Any individuals aged 18 or above may obtain or renew their tourist guide and tour escort licences through enroling in relevant courses and passing the examinations. The TIA does not impose any upper age limit for obtaining a licence. At present, many travel agents hire tourist guides and tour escorts on a part-time basis, which is particularly suitable for older and middle-aged persons as well as retired individuals as it allows relatively flexible working hours.
In addition, the TIA launches the training subsidy scheme for practitioners of the travel industry to subsidise individuals who newly enter the profession as tourist guides and tour escorts for joining training, licensing examinations and course fees for a certificate of competency in first-aid, with an aim to attract more people, including older and middle-aged persons as well as retired individuals, to join the industry and become tourist guides and tour escorts. The upgraded Upskill Hong Kong will also continue to offer tourism-related training courses to meet market demand.
To provide enhanced incentives for employers to hire older and middle-aged persons, the LD increased the amount of OJT allowance for employers to engage eligible job seekers under the EPEM in 2018 and 2020. The LD closely monitors the implementation of EPEM including the application and assessment procedures as well as the amount of allowance, and will review and explore enhancement measures in a timely manner in light of the employment market condition and the views of stakeholders.
(6) The Government conducts the Manpower Projection every five years, with a mid-term update, to assess from the macro perspective the trends of future manpower supply and requirements for different local key sectors, including the tourism industry. The projection findings help the Government and various stakeholders, including businesses and training institutions, to get hold of the situation of manpower and skills shortages in key industries and trades in Hong Kong, so as to formulate more precise short-term and medium- to long-term strategies on the manpower development training and employment in their responsible industries. The latest round of manpower projections was released in November 2024. The Government is currently conducting a mid-term update of the Manpower Projection, using the latest 2025 situation as the baseline to update the projections for the manpower situation in 2028. The findings are expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The Vocational Training Council (VTC) also conducts regular manpower surveys for 24 major industries in Hong Kong (including the tourism industry) to keep abreast of the latest market trends. The VTC conducts a comprehensive survey with relevant industry organisations every four years, supplemented by two updates in the intervening period. When formulating the relevant survey parameters, the VTC will consult relevant policy bureaus, the industry, and its respective Training Boards as necessary.
In addition, the Government has always maintained close ties with relevant stakeholders, including the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the TIA, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Hotels Association, and the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, so as to continuously and promptly understand the latest manpower needs across different sectors of the tourism industry (including various job categories such as hotels, travel agents, tourist guides and back-office support), the challenges faced on the front lines and potential manpower shortages. In addition, TIA assesses the manpower needs of travel agents for front-line staff using questionnaires, so as to formulate a more detailed and comprehensive manpower strategy. The Government will continue to adopt a flexible and multi-pronged approach to address the industry's manpower needs.
Ends/Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Issued at HKT 14:10
Issued at HKT 14:10
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