'Hotel industry needs tailor-made importation scheme'
Hoteliers have called on the government to introduce an industry-specific labour importation scheme to tackle a manpower crunch in the sector.  The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners said there are currently over 9,000 vacancies in the sector, involving positions like room attendants, cleaners, front desk receptionists, waiters and chefs. It added that the majority of hotel owners are supportive of the idea of bringing in non-local workers.  The federation’s executive director, Caspar Tsui, said even though the government’s recent relaxation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme has already made it easier for the hotel industry to import labour, more needs to be done to speed up the process.  He said an industry-specific scheme could expedite the application and review procedures, adding that a quota of 9,000 would be appropriate.  “For many of the job duties, you are able to apply through the Supplementary Labour Scheme, so there’s not much of a difference, except the efficiency would be much faster to help relieve the stress we are facing in the hotel sector,” Tsui said.  The federation made the call a day after the government announced plans to hire up to 20,000 imported workers for the construction and transport sectors.