

For this coming year, until the pandemic subsides, it is imperative that we try even harder and work closely with our own members and the tourism industry to come up with creative and innovative ways to uphold our professional standards.

Yet, we have found ways through social media and other means to stay close to everyone. This past year, because of the pandemic, we were not able to connect through in-person interaction which helps build friendship and camaraderie. I am delighted to see how you all displayed great teamwork by taking initiatives to look for ways to protect the safety of yourself as well as work with other members on ways to safeguard their interests. What l saw along the way were numerous examples of how the team came together to help each other, and many of the Society’s achievements could not have been possible without your support and team effort. It is your dedication and hard work that have helped the Hong Kong chapter of the Society to weather through the storm. Despite all the adversity and hardship, it has been extremely encouraging to see all of you working tirelessly through it all. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic is still having a profound impact on our industry as the new year begins.Ģ020 had truly been one of the most challenging years of all time, and an extremely unusual year for us, as we coped valiantly with the Covid-19 situation both with respect to its impact on our business and the way we do our work. We are now approaching almost one year from when that Covid-19 outbreak started which quickly spread worldwide, with devasting impacts on the hotel business in Hong Kong and across the world. And what a tumultuous year 2020 had turned out to be. It is hard to believe it is January 2021 already.
