Objective: To enhance the overall competitiveness of the local travel industry through subsidising the training and promotional activities beneficial to travel agents.

Funding Details:

Training Activities:

• The eligible training activities including courses, examinations, seminars, workshops, talks, etc must be held in Hong Kong. Any activities held entirely outside Hong Kong or online are considered not eligible.
• Staff members of eligible travel agents/ tour escorts / tourist guides may also take part in training activities not included in the above lists, in which case the Vetting Committee will vet their eligibility for the subsidy on a case-by-case basis. No language courses, and diploma and bachelor’s or higher degree courses will be subsidised.
• Each travel agent / tour escort / tourist guide will be subsidised with a maximum of 70% of the fee of a training activity if its application is successful provided that the fee of the training activity per person is not less than HK$500. The subsidy ceiling for each travel agent is HK$30,000 per year. The subsidy ceiling for each tour escort/ tourist guide is HK$5,000. The year of subsidy is to commence from 1 January of each year until 31 December of the same year. Promotional Activities

Promotional activities

• Promotional activities eligible for subsidy under the Development Fund must (i) be related to the outbound and the inbound industries; and (ii) meet the objective of the Development Fund (Promotional Activities).
• Eligible promotional activities must be open to all member travel agents of the Travel Industry Council (TIC) which hold a valid travel agent’s licence under the Travel Agents Ordinance. Any activities aimed at promoting the business of individual travel agents are ineligible.
• Each approved promotional activity, regardless of the number of applicant organisations, will be subsidised with a maximum of 50% of its approved cost or HK$150,000, whichever is lower. The applicant organisation must contribute not less than 50% of the approved cost of an activity in cash (outof-pocket expenses).
• Each eligible organisation is subject to a subsidy ceiling of HK$300,000 per year based on the actual completion date of the approved promotional activity.
• Approved promotional activities must be completed by grantee organisations within six months from the date of signing of a funding agreement between the grantee organisations and the TIC.

Eligibility:

Training Activities:

• All travel agents of the TIC which hold a valid travel agent’s licence under the Travel Industry Ordinance are eligible to apply for subsidy, and may nominate their own staff members (including their employees and self-employed persons) to take part in eligible training activities in order to receive subsidy.
• Tour Escorts holding a valid licence issued by the Travel Industry Authority may also take part in eligible training activities in order to receive subsidy.

Promotional Activities:
Eligible applicant organisations mean the following organisations or those fall into the following categories:

• The Hong Kong Tourism Board;
• The Asia Tourism Exchange Center (as representative of official tourism organisations in Chinese Mainland);
• the offices or representatives of overseas official tourism organisations or official tourism organisations of other places which or who are based in Hong Kong;
• the offices or representatives of overseas official tourism organisations or official tourism organisations of other places whose target of promotion is the Hong Kong market; and
• the eight Association Members of the TIC, comprising Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents (HATA), The Federation of Hong Kong Chinese Travel Agents (FHCTA), International Chinese Tourist Association (ICTA), Society of IATA Passenger Agents (SIPA), Hongkong Taiwan Tourist Operators Association (TTOA), Hong Kong Association of China Travel Organisers (HACTO), Hong Kong Outbound Tour Operators’ Association (OTOA), and Hongkong Japanese Tour Operators Association (HJTOA).