In 2024, Hong Kong welcomed approximately 45 million visitors, with particularly strong contributions from Southeast Asian markets, notably Indonesia, the Philippines, and India. As the number of travellers from diverse cultural backgrounds continues to rise, effective cross-cultural communication becomes essential, especially in dynamic environments like airports where different populations intersect.
It's our honour to organize four sessions of Cultural Sensitivity Training for Airport Authority Hong Kong staff, particularly those in customer-facing roles. This training aimed to enhance their cultural awareness and improve cross-cultural communication when interacting with travellers.
Each session began with interactive games aimed at breaking the ice and challenging stereotypes or biases participants might have in their daily lives. This was followed by story sharing from our Cultural Ambassadors and group activities. These engaging activities fostered open dialogue, encouraging participants to share their experiences and exchange in groups, creating a strong foundation for case sharing and brainstorming best practices during the training.
Participants shared various cases and experiences they encountered while interacting with tourists from diverse cultural backgrounds. A few participants shared that they had encountered tourists asking them for directions. After the explanation by our Cultural Ambassador, participants got to understand the correct direction of prayer for muslim travellers. With the enhanced knowledge, they can better answer the enquiries of travellers according to their needs.
“I found case sharing the most impressive, everyone sharing their experiences with travellers from diverse cultures.”
Through this training, participants gained essential cross-cultural communication skills. When responding to inquiries from travellers, it is important to think ahead and consider whether their questions pertain to cultural or religious aspects. With enhanced cultural awareness and knowledge, travelers can receive more comprehensive and satisfactory service. We highly appreciate the active participation of participants throughout the training.
“Regardless of who we are, we must have empathy for all from different cultures.”
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