Continuing Professional Development

Objectives

The objectives of the Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Tourist Guides (CPD Scheme) are:

1. to encourage tourist guides to constantly absorb new knowledge and upgrade themselves, and
2. to systematically maintain and upgrade tourist guides’ professional knowledge, skills and ethics.

Target tourist guides

Those who submit their application for the Tourist Guide Pass on or before 31 December 2011 and are issued with the Pass subsequently must first fulfil the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Tourist Guides (CPD Scheme) in order to meet the basic criteria for renewal of their Pass when they renew their Pass for the second time or subsequent times. For those who submit their application on or after 1 January 2012 and are issued with the Pass subsequently, they must meet the requirements of the CPD Scheme every time they renew their Pass.

• People holding the general Tourist Guide Pass (who can use any language to receive inbound package tours) and those holding the Tourist Guide Pass for English-speaking tourist guides (who cannot use Cantonese or Mandarin to receive inbound package tours) must fulfil the requirements of the CPD Scheme according to the above regulation.

• People holding the Tourist Guide Pass for non-English-and-Chinese-speaking guides (who obtain the Pass through the Waiver Programme for Non-English-and-Chinese-Speaking Tourist Guides or the Accreditation System for Non-English-and-Chinese-Speaking Tourist Guides and cannot use Cantonese, Mandarin or English to receive inbound package tours) are temporarily exempted from the CPD Scheme until further announcements.

• Non-English-and-Chinese-speaking tourist guides who obtain the general Tourist Guide Pass by completing the SUS In-service Tour Guide Training Course (course discontinued) may choose to: (i) take part in the CPD Scheme in order to renew their Pass, which does not have any restriction on languages to be used; or (ii) not take part in the CPD Scheme, in which case they will only be issued with the Pass for Non-English-and-Chinese-speaking tourist guides when renewing their Pass, and will not be allowed to use Cantonese, Mandarin or English to receive inbound package tours.

Requirements

Tourist guides must fulfil the requirements set out below in Items A, B and C during each CPD period (a CPD period refers to the three-year period when the Tourist Guide Pass is valid) in order to be considered to have completed the CPD Scheme. Items A, B and C shown below can be completed in any order, but the number of hours exceeding the requirement will not be carried over into the next CPD period.

A. Consolidation and updating of knowledge

Content: “Knowledge on Hong Kong” (information on scenic spots, basic facts about Hong Kong, relevant statistics, etc.)

Mode:

• Attend a “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Workshop held by organisations recognised by the TIC OR pass the “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Quiz .

  “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Workshop: The workshop, which lasts at least six hours, will be held by organisations recognised by the TIC.

  Organisations recognised by the TIC (in alphabetical order)	Tel. No.
  HKFTU Occupational Retraining Centre	2877-2388
  HKCT Group Ltd (Hong Kong College of Technology)	2711-9296 2711-9820
  The Hong Kong Association of Registered Tour Co-ordinators	2807-6512
  Hotel and Tourism Institute (formerly known as “VTC Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre”)	2751-5808

   

  “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Quiz: The TIC will issue a new edition of “Knowledge on Hong Kong” each year for tourist guides’ reference and self-study. Quizzes will be held regularly for tourist guides (a fee is needed). The Quiz contains 40 multiple-choice questions. The number of resits is unlimited.

  • Download Application Form for “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Quiz
  • Download Application Form for “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Make-up Quiz
  • Download Application Form for Re-marking “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Quiz
  • Download Sample Questions for “Knowledge on Hong Kong” Quiz

Requirement: Tourist guides need to attend the workshop OR pass the quiz before applying for their Pass for the second time or subsequent times.

B. Professional ethics

Content: Professional ethics, “Honest Travel”, legal liability related to the work of tourist guides, etc.

Mode:

• Mainly specialised seminars or case-study workshops (each lasting for about 2.5 to 3 hours).
• Specified or regularly organised by the TIC.
• Tourist guides may freely choose suitable seminars or workshops to attend (fees are needed).

Requirement:

• Tourist guides need to attend at least one specialised seminar or workshop lasting for 2.5 to 3 hours during each CPD period.
• The number of hours exceeding the requirement will not be carried over into the next CPD period.
• Please download the enrolment form for specialised seminars held by the TIC here.

C. Self-selected courses    

• When choosing a course for ‘self-selected courses’, tourist guides are required to make sure that the relevant course providers, mode of teaching, course content, duration and proofing documents comply with the Guideline on Item C: Self -selected Courses. Otherwise, the course taken may not be accepted as ‘Item C: self-selected courses’ of the CPD Scheme.
• Tourist guide may contact the TIC Industry Training Department on 2807-1199 to check whether the content of a course meets the requirements of the CPD Scheme.