Hospitality

The future of the city's hotel industry is expected to stay bright. According to figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the number of incoming tourists hit a record 41 million in 2011 - up 5 million from 2010.

Moreover, the total number of the city's hotel rooms is expected to rise to 70,000 in 2015 - up almost 10 per cent from 64,000 last year.

With both numbers of incoming tourists and hotel rooms heading for the stratosphere, demand for hotel and tourism staff is also expected to grow strongly, amid the occasional seasonal blips.

That demand is expected to be also fuelled by the exploding growth of hotels in Macau and mainland China. As these establishments tend to hire experienced staff - mostly at the managerial level - from Hong Kong, the city's hoteliers expect the talent scramble to continue for some time.

This is, however, good news for junior hotel staff, who can expect more promotion opportunities. This, in turn, can mean more vacancies in the hotel job market.

The hotel industry is known for its rapid career track, with junior staff getting promoted to management posts in less than 10 years - provided they perform well, of course. In other industries, such promotions can take more than a decade. As a result, it is no surprise that working in hotel and tourism remains one of the top career choices among young people.

Kennie Ho, director of hospitality and tourism faculty, Sino College