The Travel and Tourism students from Form 4B are all ready for the subject¡¦s annual official study tour to Tokyo from 17-20 December 2006. The tour is the only study tour of this nature in SJC and one of the very first among all secondary schools in Hong Kong. It is highly received by local government bodies and private organizations, including the government of Japan represented by the Japan National Tourism Organization. The 4-day-tour will feature a wide variety of learning activities, including seminars and visits to Tokyo Narita International Airport, Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay - one of the finest luxury Japanese chained hotels and DFS Galleria, as well as cultural activities for the students to experience the Japanese tradition of sumo, kendo, religious beliefs together with eco-tourism attractions. The students will also have the first-hand experience of being a tour guide in Tokyo, under the coaching of the travel agent's professionals.

"I am delighted to present such a high-quality study tour to our students," said Ms. Maria Young, teacher-in-charge of the subject. "It proves once again that St. Joseph's is always ahead of other schools and leads the fashion in delivering excellent educational values. The experience, which is tailor-made for our students, will definitely bring enormous exposures and benefits to all of them. We have even invited a representative from the travel industry to go to Tokyo with the boys so that they can get the most out of the real practice in the industry. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people from the industry for their active support and participation and also the parents to make the tour a success."

Sherman Luk, the Tour Industry Coordinator as well as an old boy of St. Joseph's, said, "It's been an honor to be involved in such a meaningful project. Throughout the 8 months of preparation, the school and different sectors within the industry came together to plan and arrange this trip. The educational value that the participants are going to explore is one of the greatest ever. All of us in the industry are very glad to see the outcome and are committed to sharing our experiences with our future generations. We are sure that the students will get a lot out of it."

"I have not seen anything of this scale before", one of the Travel and Tourism students told us, "and we are going to places that we are not able to visit in any other tour package in the market. I am very excited about it" While another student said,"I am really grateful for what the school and the industry have done for us. Industry professionals from airlines, hotels and travel agents gave us talks and seminars to equip us with some fundamental knowledge of the industry. The Managing Director of Hong Thai Travel Services shared his own experiences with us! I am eagerly looking forward to learning a lot in a few days ahead."

On this invaluable tour, Mr. C.H. Leung, Principal of St. Joseph's College commented, "We would like to congratulate the Travel & Tourism department on producing such a great tour. Special thanks go to our parents as well as our industry partners including but not limited to (in alphabetical order) Cathay Pacific Airways, DFS Galleria, Hong Thai Travel Service Limited, Hotel Okura Group, J.W. Marriott Hong Kong, Japan National Tourist Organization and Tokyo Narita International Airport. We will continue working hard to deliver the best education to our future generations."

St. Joseph's College started to offer Travel & Tourism at CE level back in 1998, which has been highly regarded ever since then. The subject is currently one of the most popular among the school¡¦s curriculum due to the adoption of the famous approach of active learning experience, where visits and learning activities are organized from time to time. The curriculum has been strongly backed up by the industry. As one of the most significant milestones, a study tour to Taipei was first organized in April 2006. This is the second year in a roll for the Travel and Tourism department to organize such a fruitful and educational study tour.

For updates about the tour, please stay tuned at the Green and White Online.