HK exchange tours to Bay Area increasing

Study tours to mainland cities within the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have been increasing — especially ones themed around science, technology and innovation, according to a local travel agency serving more than 150 Hong Kong primary and secondary schools.

Leo Cheung, the founder of I Tour Study, which specializes in study tour services, said the destinations of 80 percent of the company’s study tours were to cities within the Bay Area this year. He said it had been a “double-digit increase” compared with last year — although he did not elaborate.

Cheung said local schools and students preferred Bay Area tours because Hong Kong shared a similar culture,

5,000 HK students will go to the cities in the Bay Area under the Hong Kong government’s funding schemes.

customs and dialects with cities there.

Other reasons are the cities’ growing strengths economically and advances in innovation and technology, he said. Previously, themes of study tours within the area mainly focused on history, culture and sister schools’ exchanges. However, innovation and technology is becoming a popular new trend, Cheung added.

He cited the example of Shenzhen where students can visit leading technology enter- prises, such as Tencent — China’s internet giant — and DJI — a leading technology company that makes drones.

He said most students were excited about the trip as they were allowed to use the latest technology.

Guangzhou is another mainstream destination; students can participate in exchange programs at some of its leading universities. These include South China University of Technology, Southern Medical University and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Cheung said a group of students was recently encouraged to design an application for an Android system at a computer laboratory at the South China University of Technology.

The study tours are windows for local young people to learn about the mainland and the Bay Area; there, they can discover culture, history, advanced science technology and natural science, he noted.

Agreeing with Cheung, Ho Hon-kuen, chairman of Education Convergence, said it was good that Hong Kong students were making future life plans. He said the Bay Area would not only help to expand their living space but provide more career opportunities.

Ho said this shows Hong Kong is integrating into the overall national development strategy.

This summer, more than 5,000 local students will go to the cities in the Bay Area under the Hong Kong government’s Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland and the Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland, according to Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.