Standard and guidelines for organising study tours (2013/07/03) 

MR YIU SI-WING: President, it is learnt that the number of study tours organized by organizations such as travel agents, educational bodies, youth centres, schools, and so on, has been on the rise in recent years, but the quality of such study tours varies. In addition, participants of outbound tours which are not organized by licensed travel agents are not protected by the Travel Industry Compensation Fund and the Package Tour Accident Contingency Fund Scheme. Some parents have relayed that the requirements under the Guidelines on Study Tours Outside the HKSAR (Guidelines) of the Education Bureau are less stringent than those under the Code of Business Practice on Study Tours (Code) of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), and the protection for students joining study tours is inadequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) given that the Code requires travel agents, when organizing studying tours, to assign at least one tour-accompanying helper who holds a valid Tour Escort Pass (that is, one who has completed the Certificate Course for Outbound Tour Escorts and passed the relevant examination) to each study tour, whereas the Guidelines only require that "all escorts in the study tour should have experience in leading students to take part in outdoor activities or overseas visits", whether the Education Bureau will raise the professional requirements for study tour escorts to the same level as those set by the Code; if so, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that;

(b) as the Guidelines require that "each participant of the study tour should prepare suitable travel and medical insurance" but they have not specified what a "suitable" insurance is, whether the authorities will learn a lesson from the hot-air balloon explosion accident in Egypt and formulate uniform standards and guidelines on travel insurance for study tours; if so, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that;

(c) whether it has assessed if students concerned will have adequate protection in the event that the study tours organized by local organizations (which are not licensed travel agents) or directly by non-local receiving organizations are involved in disputes or accidents; if it has, of the assessment outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and

(d) whether the authorities will formulate uniform standards on the quality of receiving organizations at destinations of study tours, accommodation and transport arrangements, and so on, so as to ensure that study tours are of good quality and participants are safe; if so, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION: President,

(a) Schools organize study tours to provide students with more learning activities outside classroom in light of their needs. The mode of organizing study tours takes various forms including commissioning to travel agents which is more popular among schools, collaborating with other organizations and organizing by schools themselves. According to the Guidelines, irrespective of the mode of organizing study tours, schools should play the role of organizers responsible for supervision and planning of the tours. School personnel should also be appointed to escort participating students throughout the tours. Each tour should be led by at least two escorts having experiences in leading students to take part in outdoor activities or overseas visits, with at least one of them being a teacher of the school. Other than the capabilities to supervise and take care of students, the escorts should have received first aid training, be well informed of the health conditions of the participants and report regularly to the school.

Given the different job nature and clientele between escorts of study tours and professional escorts of travel agents, and that the Guidelines have specified the requirements of escorts concerned based on the nature of study tours, the Education Bureau considers it not necessary to request the escorts of study tours to possess Travel Escort Passes issued by the TIC.

The Education Bureau has consulted major stakeholders and the TIC in revising the Guidelines. The Guidelines have also included a link to the TIC's website for information on study tour operators for schools' reference. The Education Bureau will continue to work closely with the TIC to review the Guidelines as appropriate. (b) Students of public sector schools are covered by insurance arranged by the Education Bureau(1) when participating in activities including study tours organized by schools. Under the Guidelines, schools are advised to remind parents/students to arrange comprehensive personal travel insurance as deemed necessary for further protection taking into consideration the nature and details of the activities concerned.

(c) Please refer to part (b) above for the insurance coverage for students participating in school activities. We have also issued the School Administration Guide to remind schools to comply with the related requirements including specifying the details of the services required and safeguard clauses, and so on, in the tender documents. 

(d) Schools, having taken into account students' needs and views of major stakeholders, will give due consideration to the quality of the host organizations, accommodation to be provided and transportation arrangements, and so on, in arranging study tours. Besides, schools have to include clear specifications of the services in the tender documents to protect the participating students and the schools themselves being the organizers in accordance with the Guidelines on Tendering and Purchasing Procedures in Schools when organizing study tours through procurement of services. Under the Travel Agents Ordinance (Cap. 218), any organization commissioned by schools to organize study tours including provision of transportation and accommodation arrangements, and so on, for commercial gain must be a travel agent holding a valid licence.