HKPC-HKTB Join Hands to Enhance Service Standards of Local Retail and Catering Industries

Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) was again selected as the assessor of the Hong Kong Tourism Board's (HKTB) Quality Tourism Services (QTS) Scheme applicants and accredited merchants from the retail and catering industries for another two years till 2010, setting a straight nine-year record in this role to improve the sectors' standards.

A signing ceremony between Mr Anthony Lau, Executive Director of HKTB, and Mr Wilson Fung, Executive Director of HKPC, was held today (30 May 2008) to mark the continuation of this co-operation which commenced since the Scheme's inception in November 1999.

At the ceremony, Mr Lau said: "Quality service holds the key to the success of Hong Kong's tourism industry. We are gratified that the QTS Scheme has received strong support from both visitors and the travel trade since its introduction. With the professional help of HKPC, the HKTB has been striving to ensure high standards of service quality among the accredited dining and retail outlets through stringent assessment and monitoring mechanisms. We are very pleased to renew our partnership with HKPC. Working hand in hand, we will continue our effort to help industry partners uplift their service standards and in turn the competitiveness of our tourism industry."

Mr Fung said HKPC has, through its consultancy service and quality assessment service, assisted the local service sector over the years for continuous improvement in order to attain service excellence. "On top of the QTS Scheme, we also help develop and act as assessors on other industry-wide initiatives such as the Quality Seawater Assurance Scheme and the Quality Wedding Merchant Scheme. In addition, we provide tailor-made assessment services and employees training for enterprises, helping them to acquire new customer management techniques," he said.

To date, about 6,600 outlets from the retail and catering sectors have been accredited under the Scheme. According to a survey conducted by the HKTB in 2007, over 95% of accredited merchants who were being interviewed, agreed that the QTS Scheme could help enhance their company images, customers' confidence and standard of service quality. Also, 94% of the interviewed visitors agreed that the services provided by QTS accredited shops could fulfil their expectations.

For more information about the QTS Scheme, please visit PartnerNet of the HKTB (partnernet.hktb.com) or contact the Secretariat of the QTS Scheme at tel. (852) 2806 2823.

For other media enquiries relating to HKPC services, please contact Mr Felix Chan of HKPC at tel. (852) 2788 5036 or email: felixchan@hkpc.org .

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Mr Jonathan Ho
General Manager
Corporate Communications
Tel: (852) 2788 6390
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
Email: jonathanho@hkpc.org
Website: www.hkpc.org

30 May 2008