HK taxi drivers encouraged to learn Arabic as part of tourism drive

Taxi drivers in Hong Kong will be encouraged to learn Arabic, although learning is not compulsory, according to the city’s commerce chief Algernon Yau. 

Yau said on a radio programme that taxi drivers are encouraged to learn from the basics. “Learning a new language isn’t easy, but if taxi drivers are interested, they can learn some basic phrases, such as greetings or thanks,” Yau added. 

He also said there are great business opportunities between the city and the Middle East. Given the good relationship between both regions, the authorities hope to take advantage of this to bring in more investments and tourists from the Middle East, added Yau.  

“The Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Airport Authority will cooperate, and the hotel industry will also increase dedicated prayer locations, we wish the authorities can introduce more halal restaurants in Hong Kong to make Middle Eastern tourists feel at home,” he added. 

The move has drawn mixed reactions from netizens. Media intelligence firm CARMA observed over 1,500 mentions related to the authorities encouraging Hong Kong taxi drivers to learn Arabic to better serve Middle East visitors. Of these mentions, 44.5% were negative, while 11.5% were positive.

Netizens generally agreed that while the intention to attract visitors from the Middle East is commendable, the execution falls short, said CARMA's HK GM Charles Cheung. "Many users humourously translated common taxi phrases such as 'changing shift' and 'not crossing the harbour' into Arabic. Several netizens pointed out that the average age of taxi drivers in Hong Kong is nearly 60, making it extremely challenging for them to learn a new language, especially when they aren't fluent in more commonly used languages like Mandarin and English," he said.

"Some also argue that instead of focusing on language acquisition, resources could be better spent on improving the overall quality of taxi services and infrastructure to accommodate diverse visitors. Others suggested that authorities should explore different ways other than language acquisition to integrate cultural sensitivity into the tourism and transport sectors," he added.

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This comes after Hong Kong’s leader John Lee suggested taxi fleets provide service information in Arabic to lure Muslim visitors from the Middle East and Southeast Asia in his third Policy Address. 

"We will actively encourage various sectors of the community to enhance tourism-support measures to create a friendly environment for visitors. They include providing information at the airport in Arabic and encouraging taxi fleets to provide fleet service information in Arabic," Lee added.

In recent years, the Middle East has become an emerging tourism market that Hong Kong highly focused on, with 80% of the total visitor arrivals from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries travelling to Hong Kong for leisure and business, according to Dane Cheng, executive director, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).

"With the increasing number of direct flights between the Middle East and Hong Kong, the availability of high-end travel experiences and the HKTB’s co-operation with the travel trade to enhance -friendly facilities in Hong Kong, HKTB believes that we can welcome more visitors from the Middle East. HKTB has therefore decided to seize the opportunity to launch a number of promotions this month to further capture the opportunities arising from the Middle Eastern markets in collaboration with the travel trade," Cheng added.

As such, the HKTB launched a series of initiatives in May targeting the member states of the GCC in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, with a view to strengthening efforts to promote Hong Kong tourism in the source markets of the Middle East and attracting more travellers from the markets.

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