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Kahon Chan

Premium taxis may be eligible to receive a stamp of approval under a quality service scheme, the head of a Hong Kong body that promotes better standards in the tourist sector has said, adding that Halal-friendly restaurants may also be included next year in a bid to improve the city’s appeal to Muslim visitors.
Simon Wong Kit-lung, chairman of the Quality Tourism Services Association, also suggested that a further increase in mainland Chinese tourists was unlikely to drive a sharp rise in local retail sales as their spending patterns had “normalised”.
Transport authorities granted five premium taxi fleet licences in July in a bid to promote service quality across the trade, and operators have until the end of July next year to launch their services.
Hong Kong’s taxis have a poor reputation among locals and tourists with complaints mostly about cherry-picking passengers and overcharging fares.
Wong said following the introduction of the new taxi category, there were plans to bring it under the Quality Tourism Services Scheme, of which his association is a partner.
“For several years, people have been asking us whether the quality stamp can be extended to taxis. In the past, the biggest problem was that people hailed taxis whenever they saw one, and they wouldn’t only catch a taxi when they spotted the quality stamp,” he said on a pre-recorded television show aired on Saturday.
“But now that we will have [taxi] fleets, there may be more room for change, and there may be a chance for a new possibility in the future.”

He said the idea was still being discussed with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, which runs the scheme.
Established in 1999, the scheme had nearly 8,000 merchants as of July. An accredited business can display the scheme’s stamp of quality on its storefronts and is subject to annual assessments.
He said the association’s other focus in 2025 would be to promote Muslim-friendly accreditation among local restaurants to improve Hong Kong’s appeal to Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
While visitor numbers from the Philippines and Thailand in the first half of this year reached or exceeded 2018 levels, figures from Malaysia and Indonesia have yet to fully recover, board data shows.
Wong said last month’s certification of a fine-dining Chinese restaurant as Halal-friendly marked a major milestone as the industry had struggled to reduce its dependence on pork to bring out the traditional flavours of Cantonese cuisine.
“Some Chinese dishes in Malaysia use chicken instead of ham to make the soup base. Muslims appreciate it, but ordinary Chinese patrons may not find it tasty enough,” he said.
“People thought it was very easy [to get Halal certification] as you just need to use less pork. It is not as straightforward as it seems.”
Wong said while the resumption of multiple-entry permits for Shenzhen residents to visit Hong Kong had driven footfall at local restaurants this month, the catering sector would have to manage its expectations as he observed that mainland tourists’ retail spending had largely fallen in line with that of overseas visitors.
In the second quarter this year, an overnight visitor spent HK$5,400 on average, including HK$2,100 on shopping, with the latter figure about HK$1,100 lower than the full-year average recorded in 2018, according to the Tourism Board.
“In the past, it might just have been that the spending power of [mainland tourists] was particularly strong at that time and space, but now it has become normalised,” Wong said.
“Our streets are no longer paved with gold as they used to be, but as long as we grasp the new reality, there will be business for the catering and retail industries.”


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Hong Kong tourism

Hong Kong’s premium taxi fleets could be in line for quality service logo

Hong Kong’s taxi trade has a bad reputation, with new premium fleet licences launched with the aim of improving standards. Photo: Eugene Lee

Mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong are spending less than in the past. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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The government is hoping to bolster the quality of taxi services through a series of new measures. Photo: Nora Tam

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Cabbies will also be required to offer e-payment options under the proposed legislative amendments. Photo: Nora Tam

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Transport authorities hope the upgrades can boost the industry’s service quality. Photo: May Tse

Transport authorities are calling for all taxis to offer electronic payment systems to better serve customers. Photo: May Tse

Can Hong Kong be more Muslim-friendly? Having more ‘halal’ dining options can help attract Middle East visitors

Hong Kong is eager to attract more Muslim visitors, especially from the Middle East. Illustration: Henry Wong

The KFC at Chuang’s London Plaza in Jordan became the first of the chain’s outlets in Hong Kong to get halal-certified on November 4, 2022. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Tourism Board adviser Fazal Bahardeen, CrescentRating’s chief executive officer, has said more Hong Kong eateries could be added to the halal list if owners make some adjustments. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The city’s chief imam, Mufti Muhammad Arshad, has pointed out that providing more food options is not the only consideration if Hong Kong wants to attract Muslim visitors. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Paul Mcloughlin, culinary director at Cordis, of the Langham Hospitality Group, has said the biggest obstacle in going halal is the lack of space for additional facilities. Photo: Sun Yeung

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Chief of Quality Tourism Services Association says another aim for 2025 is to promote ‘Halal-friendly’ accreditation among local restaurants


Chief of Quality Tourism Services Association says another aim for 2025 is to promote ‘Halal-friendly’ accreditation among local restaurants.


Hong Kong’s premium taxi fleets could be in line for quality service logo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chief of Quality Tourism Services Association says another aim for 2025 is to promote ‘Halal-friendly’ accreditation among local restaurants

Chief of Quality Tourism Services Association says another aim for 2025 is to promote ‘Halal-friendly’ accreditation among local restaurants