P R E S S   R E L E A S E

        Tourism plays an important role in the economy of Hong Kong.  With the accession of China to the WTO, Hong Kong, located conveniently at the heart of Asia and the gateway to the mainland, has always been and will remain both an international business hub and a popular tourist destination.

        In line with the Hong Kong Government's vision to establish and promote Hong Kong as Asia's world city, and a world-class destination for leisure and business visitors, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is committed to developing a regional centre of excellence in hotel management.  Established in 1998, The School of Hotel Management of CUHK working closely in collaboration with the Hotel School of Cornell University and the hospitality and tourism industry, has launched high quality and widely acclaimed programmes for the training of hotel professionals and the promotion of executive education and research.  CUHK also took the initiative to build a Teaching Hotel on the University campus in collaboration with the New World Development Company Limited.

        The first of its kind in Hong Kong and perhaps the region, the Teaching Hotel of CUHK will be built on a site adjacent to the University Train Station, overlooking the scenic Tolo Harbour. It will be a 600-room four-star international hotel with 10,000 square metres of conference and teaching facilities for use by the University. The Teaching Hotel will provide the facilities and teaching support for hands-on training of our students and other practicum and development programmes coordinated by the University.

        The Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the Teaching Hotel of CUHK was held today.  Dr Alice K Y Lam, Chairman of the University Grants Committee, Dr Cheng Yu-tung, Chairman of the New World Development Company Limited, Dr Lee Hon-chiu, Chairman of the Council of CUHK, and Professor Arthur K C Li, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK officiated at the Ceremony.

        Professor Arthur K C Li, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK said with the Teaching Hotel, the Hotel School could offer not only programmes at the undergraduate level, but also top-notch professional and executive training courses for high-powered practitioners in the field.

        "The School can experiment with new service ideas, new products, and new systems."  He said, "It can also expand the scope of its activities to include consultancy services for relevant industries on the mainland and in other parts of Asia.  It can aspire to become a regional training centre for hotel property management, hotel investment, and hospitality-related services."

        On the same occasion, Dr Cheng Yu-tung of New World Development Co. Ltd expressed his delight in the collaboration and believed the Teaching Hotel would be conducive to upgrading the standard and image of hotel industry in Hong Kong.  "In the past, hoteliers learnt their profession mostly via on-the-job training," Dr Cheng said, "(The Teaching Hotel project) will combine book knowledge and on-the-job practice, elevating the standards of our graduates desiring to enter the hotel industry.  It will provide a good training platform for aspiring hoteliers."

        Dr Alice K Y Lam, Chairman of the University Grants Committee, supported the project and called for greater collaboration between the academia and the industry to benefit both parties and Hong Kong as a whole.  "Such an undertaking is indicative of the staunch support from the industry itself for hotel and hospitality education at the tertiary level.  While the UGC fully backs any worthy educational programme that can develop and upgrade human capital for our community, we always encourage the universities to solicit extra resources from the private sector to enhance the quality of education they offer."