ICAC joins forces with travel and tourism industry to promote ethical practices
2003-3-21
ICAC Commissioner Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong today (Friday) calls upon senior executives of the travel and tourism industry to maintain ethical management in embracing the challenges facing the industry.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the “Integrity –'96 Our Winning Edge” Ethics Conference for the Travel & Tourism Industry , Mr Lee said although corruption reports relating to the industry remained low in recent years, constant vigilance should be exercised to prevent corruption from taking root.
Of the 2,403 corruption reports involving the private sector last year, 64 concerned airlines, hotels and travel agents –'96 the three major sectors of the industry, down from 73 in the previous year.
In the past five years, such reports accounted for only three per cent of all corruption reports concerning the private sector.
“Tourism industry is primarily a business of goodwill and reputation. One case of corruption is enough to seriously damage the image of Hong Kong,” said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee observed that past corruption-related cases had involved malpractice in awarding procurement orders to suppliers or maintenance contracts in the hotel business, soliciting and acceptance of illegal rebates and advantages between travel agents and r etailers, and soliciting and acceptance of illegal advantages in contracting out outbound tours.
Other corruption prone areas involved air ticket allocation and retailers colluding in counterfeit credit card activities.
Mr Lee pointed out that past cases had shown that inadequate system control and lack of staff integrity were very often the major causes of the problems.
Today’s Conference represents one of the highlights of an ethics programme by the ICAC, the Tourism Commission, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and five leading associations in the industry to promote ethical practices.
Mr Lee stressed that in a stringent financial situation, businesses could not afford to bear the unnecessary costs, loss of profit or goodwill as a result of malpractice, fraud and corruption.
He urged the senior executives in the industry to help nurture an ethical organisational culture, strengthen their internal system of control, enhance staff integrity, and adopt a zero tolerance policy towards malpractice and corruption.
Following the Conference, the ICAC will collaborate with the industry to produce a practical guide on ethical management and a training package for frontline employees.
The Commission will also keep up its effort in providing corruption prevention training for inbound tour guides under the Skills Upgrading Scheme.
At today’s conference, the Commissioner for Tourism, Ms Eva Cheng, delivered a keynote speech while the Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mrs Selina Chow, shared her views on ethical management during the luncheon.
About 250 senior executives in the travel and tourist industry also attended four concurrent workshops for the airline, hotel, retailer and travel agent sectors.
Chaired by former member of the ICAC Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations, Mr Philip Chen, the organising committee of the ethics programme comprises: Mr Vincent Fang, Chairman of the Association of Better Business & Tourism Services; Mr Rob ert Cutler, Chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives, Hong Kong; Mr Michael Li, Executive Director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners; Mr Mark Lettenbichler, Chairman of the Hong Kong Hotels Association; Mrs Grace Lee, Deputy Executive Di rector of the Hong Kong Tourism Board; Mr Duncan Pescod, Deputy Commissioner for Tourism; Mr Joseph Tung, Executive Director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong; and Ms Julie Mu, Assistant Director of the ICAC’s Community Relations Department.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the “Integrity –'96 Our Winning Edge” Ethics Conference for the Travel & Tourism Industry , Mr Lee said although corruption reports relating to the industry remained low in recent years, constant vigilance should be exercised to prevent corruption from taking root.
Of the 2,403 corruption reports involving the private sector last year, 64 concerned airlines, hotels and travel agents –'96 the three major sectors of the industry, down from 73 in the previous year.
In the past five years, such reports accounted for only three per cent of all corruption reports concerning the private sector.
“Tourism industry is primarily a business of goodwill and reputation. One case of corruption is enough to seriously damage the image of Hong Kong,” said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee observed that past corruption-related cases had involved malpractice in awarding procurement orders to suppliers or maintenance contracts in the hotel business, soliciting and acceptance of illegal rebates and advantages between travel agents and r etailers, and soliciting and acceptance of illegal advantages in contracting out outbound tours.
Other corruption prone areas involved air ticket allocation and retailers colluding in counterfeit credit card activities.
Mr Lee pointed out that past cases had shown that inadequate system control and lack of staff integrity were very often the major causes of the problems.
Today’s Conference represents one of the highlights of an ethics programme by the ICAC, the Tourism Commission, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and five leading associations in the industry to promote ethical practices.
Mr Lee stressed that in a stringent financial situation, businesses could not afford to bear the unnecessary costs, loss of profit or goodwill as a result of malpractice, fraud and corruption.
He urged the senior executives in the industry to help nurture an ethical organisational culture, strengthen their internal system of control, enhance staff integrity, and adopt a zero tolerance policy towards malpractice and corruption.
Following the Conference, the ICAC will collaborate with the industry to produce a practical guide on ethical management and a training package for frontline employees.
The Commission will also keep up its effort in providing corruption prevention training for inbound tour guides under the Skills Upgrading Scheme.
At today’s conference, the Commissioner for Tourism, Ms Eva Cheng, delivered a keynote speech while the Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Mrs Selina Chow, shared her views on ethical management during the luncheon.
About 250 senior executives in the travel and tourist industry also attended four concurrent workshops for the airline, hotel, retailer and travel agent sectors.
Chaired by former member of the ICAC Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations, Mr Philip Chen, the organising committee of the ethics programme comprises: Mr Vincent Fang, Chairman of the Association of Better Business & Tourism Services; Mr Rob ert Cutler, Chairman of the Board of Airline Representatives, Hong Kong; Mr Michael Li, Executive Director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners; Mr Mark Lettenbichler, Chairman of the Hong Kong Hotels Association; Mrs Grace Lee, Deputy Executive Di rector of the Hong Kong Tourism Board; Mr Duncan Pescod, Deputy Commissioner for Tourism; Mr Joseph Tung, Executive Director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong; and Ms Julie Mu, Assistant Director of the ICAC’s Community Relations Department.