walkwithhk

Walk in Hong Kong.
Walk with Hong Kong.

肺炎疫情未見明朗,我城前景一片灰暗,城內眾生進退維谷,看似苦無出路。活現香港堅信,只要不斷嘗試,屢敗屢戰,窮則變,變則通,本信而進前,總會找到一綫生機。

活現香港,重行香港。未來幾個月,身為香港一份子,我們會帶大家重行香港各區,發掘新事物,滿足求知慾;作為旅遊業界一員,我們會舉辦免費訓練予從業員,提升競爭力,迎接行業新氣象。我們更要着手推動行業變革,謝絕割喉競爭,推動業界與社群良性互動,推動地方創生。誠邀大家與我們同道,一同重行香港。

The pandemic shocked us. The uncertainties of Hong Kong’s future worry us. We are trapped in a cave with no exit in sight. In such trying times, our faith in Hong Kong people guides us walking forward. We believe that if we keep doing what we think is meaningful, bit by bit, we will be able to climb out of this cave. This is why we are rolling out our Walk in Hong Kong Walk with Hong Kong campaign. In the next few months, we will bring you around town to share with you what continues to mesmerize us about this city. We will give back to our hospitality industry by providing free training. We will push for more sustainable changes to our travel industry, in preparation for the day when travellers visit us again. We invite you to walk with us.

重新發掘香港
Rediscovering Hong Kong

去年慶祝創業五周年時,活現香港定下了公司的三個核心支柱:訴說香港的故事、設計引人入勝的體驗、帶來社會的革新及改變。


疫情當前,大家無法外遊,名乎其實「被困香江」。但是,正面一點看,或許這是上天賜予我們的機會,讓香港人重新認識、發掘自己的城市,在香港重拾旅行的感覺?

活現香港會推出一系列活動,名為「重行香港」(Walk with Hong Kong)。「重行」有兩重意思:首先,我們希望邀請大家遊走香港,透過腳步重新認識自己的城市。如果旅行的真諦在於以好奇與嶄新的眼光看事物,為何大家不能在自己的城市旅行?我們的信念是,接觸生活日常,就是最佳的旅遊體驗。香港不只有主題公園、金鋪及藥房,無數城市瑰寶就在你我身邊:舊建築、歷史傳統、有趣街景、城市創意以及溫暖的社區人情。

我們會推出一系列在地旅行團,每隔數週以不同主題及切入點,並邀請友好及嘉賓合作,與大家一起重新認識、感受香港。

Last year during our anniversary party, Walk in Hong Kong announced our company’s three key pillars: telling stories of Hong Kong, designing intriguing experiences, and bringing about positive changes to our city.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we have pretty much been stranded here in Hong Kong. But hey, try thinking of this as a glass-half-full situation. Wouldn’t this be the godsend opportunity for us to tour around and learn something new about Hong Kong?

Taking this as an opportunity to rediscover our city, Walk in Hong Kong is going to launch the Walk with Hong Kong campaign. ‘Walking with’ Hong Kong contains two meanings - firstly, we are inviting you to explore our own city on foot.

If the one true meaning behind ‘travelling’ is to look at things with curious eyes, why can’t we travel in our own city? At Walk in Hong Kong, we believe the best travel experience comes from our everyday life. Theme parks, jewellery shops and dispensaries aren’t the only attractions in Hong Kong. In fact, there are countless places to visit, heritage buildings, history and traditions, quirky streetscapes, heartwarming tales of the community… You name it.

Every month starting from June, we will join hands with special guests to take you on a series of themed walking tours to re-experience what Hong Kong has to offer.

活現香港每月精選主題行街團 Walk in Hong Kong's Signature Walking Tours for Locals

7月4日(六)下午三時至五時

銅鑼灣及大坑

HK$300

銅鑼灣至北角一帶有唔少備受忽略嘅香港建築瑰寶,訴說住呢個城市東西交融嘅故事。 我哋請嚟建築研究學者黎雋維(Charles),運用建築保育同文化嘅視角,鑑賞呢一區獨特嘅樓宇。

7月11日(六)下午三時至六時

石硤尾及深水埗

HK$450

五十年代,香港一窮二白,深水埗臥虎藏龍,如此造就了一代鬼才黃霑,寫下那不朽香江名句。我們將會聯同「黃霑書房」的吳俊雄博士,帶大家重行深水埗,重塑當年黃湛森成為黃霑前的成長足跡。

7月18日(六)下午三時至六時

石硤尾及深水埗

HK$450

五十年代,香港一窮二白,深水埗臥虎藏龍,如此造就了一代鬼才黃霑,寫下那不朽香江名句。我們繼續找來「黃霑書房」的吳俊雄博士以及風車草劇團的湯駿業,與大家重行深水埗,重塑當年黃湛森成為黃霑前的成長足跡。

Crowdsourcing.

我們也認為,沒有人比在此生活的大家更懂得推介香港的旅遊路線,既然如此,不如就徵集大家的智慧,來一次 crowdsourcing。我們希望向大家徵集 50 條創新、有趣及能令人真正感受香港魅力的路線,定期整理及發布這些地道遊推介,而且會舉行公眾投票,我們會將大家心頭好再發展成深度旅行團。

We also believe that nobody would be more familiar with Hong Kong than those of you who have lived here all your lives, and you might have personal favourites when it comes to tour routes that even us aren’t aware of. So here’s what we are going to do — we are going to crowdsource 50 entertaining, innovative and fun tour routes that at the same time would allow fellow Hongkongers to experience our city’s charisma. A public voting campaign will be organised  for you to pick out your favourite tour routes, which would then be curated and developed into walking tours led by our passionate guides.

Discount.

對於我們的支持者,我們會推出一系列優惠,以回饋大家多年來的支持及勉勵。

To thank the support from our fans and friends, we are launching a series of offers.

旅遊業的社會責任
Social responsibilities of the travel industry

「重行」的第二層意思,是香港旅遊業也要重新找尋一條新出路。

儘管經營艱難,活現香港承諾不會裁員及要求員工放無薪假,因為同事是我們最重要的資產,留住優質及有經驗的員工對將來旅遊業能否復甦至關重要。

我們也深信,在保育古蹟及推廣本地文化方面,旅遊業應該要肩負更大的社會責任。旅遊業的使命是將我城最好的東西展現出來,若果這些城市瑰寶面臨「被消失」的威脅,以往旅遊業會覺得事不關己,但其實我們最有責任出來發聲及行動。

The second meaning of ‘walking with’ Hong Kong is more metaphorical, which is to discover a new way out for our city’s tourism. 

Although running a business is hard, Walk in Hong Kong pledges not to let go of any of our teammates, nor ask them to take unpaid leave. Our teammates are our most valuable asset, and they matter most to Walk in Hong Kong. Keeping with us staff members with skill sets and knowledge would be a key contributor to the revitalisation of the travel industry.

We believe the travel industry should play a more significant role in conserving and promoting local culture. As travel industry practitioners, our social responsibility is to showcase the best of Hong Kong. If urban gems in our city are in danger of being lost forever, we shouldn’t be afraid to call out anyone responsible.

Free Training.

旅遊同業受到很大衝擊,工作朝不保夕,畢業生也前路茫茫,對旅遊及酒店業前景充滿憂慮。推動旅遊業轉型及提升水平是我們念茲在茲的事,我們決定趁這旅業空窗期為旅遊業從業員及畢業生免費提供培訓,讓大家更好地裝備自己,以迎接將來旅業的復甦。

Our counterparts in the travel industry are facing harrowing losses. Not only many positions are made redundant, recent graduates in the tourism and hospitality field might also find it extremely difficult to enter the workforce. We figured that assisting the travel industry to transform and evolve is of utmost urgency and importance, and we would love to be a part of this change. Walk in Hong Kong volunteers to provide free training for tourism sector employees and graduates, so that they can prepare for future careers.

HKCHF.

我們也決定實踐另一個重要理念:成立「香港社區古蹟保育基金」(Hong Kong Community Heritage Foundation),並會把活現香港每年收入的 2% 撥入基金,以推動建築保育及推動古蹟旅遊的工作。自此之後,大家參加我們的導賞團及活動,就會直接資助這方面的保育工作。

This is the reason why we have decided to establish the Hong Kong Community Heritage Foundation to promote architectural conservation and heritage tourism. Every year, 2% of Walk in Hong Kong’s income will go into the Foundation. In other words, for every $100 you spend on joining Walk in Hong Kong’s tours, $2 will be used to subsidise heritage conservation efforts. 

旅遊業轉型與提升
Transcending tourism

走過動盪艱難的一年,擺在眼前的事實是,舊有的旅遊業界經營模式注定不再可行;依仗購物消費、樂園景點及只求跑大量遊客數目的低端旅遊模式,既屬自貶身價,也製造了太多的社會矛盾。

我們急需撥亂反正,扭轉「殺雞取卵」式的發展,拒絕再為催谷旅客人數、爭取蠅頭小利,卻無視地方的承受力,讓不同地區遊客爆煲、怨氣沖天,也徹底摧毀不少地區原有的店鋪、街道與社區生態。

旅遊業需要來一次徹底reboot,找了全新的模式,是可以持續發展的,更尊重社區文化歷史,而且是一種能與社群建立良性互動的關係,讓旅遊業成為提升生活質素及帶動地方創生的動力。

割喉式競爭源於對自己的市場價值缺乏信心,覺得只有「監平監賤」才能把服務賣出去。要將旅遊業發展導向良性循環,我們需要藉此難得 reboot 時機,讓大家不要再壓低自己的價值,反而以質取勝,透過合理定價,將利潤投放在提高從業員的工資回報、培訓,同時我們也要說服顧客「一分錢一分貨」,大家願意付一點費,優秀的旅遊公司才能夠生存下去,持續地為大家提供優良的旅遊體驗。

老調子已經不能重彈,情況已經無可再壞,既已到山窮水盡處,沒有甚麼可以再輸,我們需要洗心革面,放膽一試求變。作為旅遊業一份子,我們非常樂意去推動這些變革,因為這亦符合我們希望帶來社會效益的初衷。

In turbulent times, we have come to realise that Hong Kong’s traditional tourism model no longer works. Catering to low-end group tourists by taking them on mindless shopping sprees and visits to landmarks, has proven to be doing more harm than good to the tourism ecology. Not only does this devalue the professionalism in the travel industry, it is also one of the main contributors of much unwanted conflicts within our city. 

We desperately need to make things right again. The shortsighted practice of ignoring our communities’ tourism receiving capacity in the pursuit of appealing tourist figures but marginal gains has been an indirect contributor to the displeasure of travellers and local residents alike, and has destroyed the ecology of many shops and neighbourhoods. 

The travel industry needs a complete reboot by establishing a new form of sustainable tourism that respects community culture and history, while also creating a more intimate bond with them. In this way, the travel industry can motivate better quality of life and facilitate placemaking efforts for Hongkongers. 

The reason behind such cut-throat competition is a lack of confidence in one’s own market value, and that it is only justifiable for customers to purchase services with a dirt cheap price tag. Ironically, this global economic crisis has become an unfortunate but timely opportunity for us to reboot Hong Kong’s travel industry into something more sustainable and socially responsible. It is about time that we no longer devalue ourselves and surrender to providing low-price, low-quality tourism services. A reasonable price point accompanied by better services, and investment in employee training and salaries are examples of things that keep outstanding tourism companies competitive, allowing them to continuously provide exceptional service for the years to come.

We can’t go back to the old normal. Now that there is nothing more to lose, it is only sensible for us to embrace change. As a part of the travel industry, we are ready to challenge ourselves and take part in this journey to make positive changes to our society. 

「香港會是個更好的地方」
Hong Kong will be at a better place

這段日子,我們經常懷念帶外國朋友遊香港的日子。記得去年中接待兩位印度遊客,臨別時他們說不知何時重臨,但「希望下次來的時候,香港會是個更好的地方。」

當然沒有人料到之後香港會經歷如此曲折,問香港人過去一年是否開心順意,答案大家也心中有數。但過去一段日子,香港人也集體行了萬里路,不辭勞苦,奮力堅持,並為理想流盡汗水及淚水。

沒有人能保證「香港會是個更好的地方」,壞日子也不知何時會完結,但活現香港也會 Walk with Hong Kong,重新行出非凡路。

Showing overseas tourists around Hong Kong has always been one of the favourite parts of our jobs, and we miss it dearly. Early 2019, we welcomed two travellers from India to our city. After the tour when we were bidding our farewells, one of them gripped my shoulder and said, “we hope when we return to Hong Kong one year from today, it will be at a better place.”

At that time, no one would’ve expected Hong Kong to go through such an anomalous year. If you ask a Hongkonger how the past year has been for them, it really goes beyond words. Yet we have walked many miles together — for things precious to us, and for the city that we love. Although sweat and tears have been shed, we have been holding fast to our beliefs. 

Nobody knows for sure “Hong Kong will be at a better place”; and nobody knows when the dark days will end, but Walk in Hong Kong will always Walk with Hong Kong. Please join us. 

✏️ Paul Chan (Co-founder and CEO of Walk in Hong Kong)
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