Latest news with #DorisHo
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hotel-to-student hostel conversions won't hurt tourist capacity: Hong Kong official
Hong Kong's move to repurpose excess office and hotel spaces to meet the growing housing needs of non-local students will not hurt the city's tourism capacity, a senior official has said, while a leading surveyor has warned of possible hurdles. Advertisement Doris Ho Pui-ling, permanent secretary for development in planning and lands, said on Monday that allowing hotels to be converted would not cannibalise tourist accommodation, adding that the supply of rooms was sufficient. 'We have more than 90,000 hotel rooms in Hong Kong with an occupancy rate of around 80 to 90 per cent, so as we see it now, the quantity should be able to support the development of the tourism industry,' Ho said. 'Ultimately, we will leave the market to decide whether some low-to-mid-priced hotels turn into student hostels.' According to the latest figures from the Tourism Board, the average hotel occupancy rate reached 86 per cent in April. Advertisement On Friday, the Development Bureau announced that it would expand the definition of 'hotels' to include student hostels, waive planning procedures and simplify applications, allowing private operators to build the dormitories on commercial land more easily.
RTHK
9 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Grade B and C offices 'likely to join dorms scheme'
Grade B and C offices 'likely to join dorms scheme' Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho says having more dormitories in place is a prerequisite for the SAR to attract more overseas students. File Photo: RTHK The Development Bureau said on Monday it expects private grade B and C offices will likely join a pilot scheme that allows commercial buildings and hotels to be converted into student hostels much more quickly. The bureau is proposing that the definition of hotels be expanded to cover student dormitories so that developers do not have to be put through any planning procedures should they wish to convert buildings into student hostels or construct dormitories on commercial sites. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Permanent Secretary for Development Doris Ho said having the support facilities in place is a prerequisite for the SAR to better develop its "Study in Hong Kong" brand, which was first unveiled in last year's Policy Address to attract more overseas students to study here. "The industry told us that maybe there is a higher chance of grade B and C offices joining the scheme," she said. "We also looked at some figures – these two grades of offices have a vacancy rate of only about 10 percent in the past year. "Therefore, if we have this scheme and they are willing to participate, it will allow commercial buildings that have not been fully utilised to be put to better use, and we think that's worth supporting." The government, Ho said, will leave it up to the industry to decide whether medium- and low-cost hotels will participate in the scheme. She said the SAR has sufficient hotel capacity to support tourism development for the time being. This is because the occupancy rate for the 90,000 hotel rooms in Hong Kong stands at 80 to 90 percent, Ho said, and with the change in travel patterns, travellers do not necessarily stay overnight. Under the scheme, the bureau also hopes to waive floor area requirements to offer developers greater flexibility. For instance, Ho said, they can retain the area previously used as a covered parking lot to offload goods and convert them into facilities such as laundry, study and gym rooms. She said the government has set neither a target on how many more student dormitories would be set up under the scheme nor a cap on the number of applications. Metropolitan University vice president Charles Kwong welcomes the scheme. As the bureau's development projects facilitation office will be responsible for the scheme, he said, it will save a lot of time and costs as schools no longer have to liaise with government departments one by one when they are trying to convert buildings into hostels. He believes institutions are not looking for Grade A private offices for conversion. Instead, vacant buildings located in preferred areas will be more suitable as schools can follow through with the conversion with better time control, Kwong added. The scheme will start accepting applications in the middle of next month.
