Hotel ICON, the teaching and research hotel built for SHTM by PolyU — Photo by Hong Kong PolyU
Prof Timothy Tong (fourth from left) and Prof Walter Yuen, PolyU Vice President (Academic Development) (second from left) joined Prof Kaye Chon (third from left), students and staff of SHTM at the cocktail party “A Farewell to Our Millennium” — Photo by Hong Kong PolyU

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's (PolyU) School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) is moving to the new premises in December 2010. The new home for the SHTM is located in:

School of Hotel and Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
17 Science Museum Road
Tsim Sha Tsui East
Kowloon, Hong Kong

Since its inception in 1979, the SHTM has continued to evolve and break new ground. The School is now moving from having a vision of rapid transformation in hospitality and tourism education across the region to being an icon, a globally meaningful symbol of excellence. The SHTM's new education model, with Hotel ICON at its heart, will help to improve hospitality and tourism education everywhere.

Hotel ICON is the teaching and research hotel built for the SHTM by PolyU. The University has undertaken a unique project over the past several years to develop dedicated premises for the SHTM to further enhance its world leadership position in hospitality and tourism education and to embrace the strong demand for its further contribution to Hong Kong, the region and the world. The result is an impressive complex of 28 storeys comprising three components: the SHTM home base, the teaching and research hotel and the PolyU staff quarters. Hotel ICON has already become an impressive part of the Tsim Sha Tsui East skyline.

At a special cocktail party entitled "A Farewell to Our Millennium" recently hosted by the School at the Millennium Training Restaurant to bid a significant part of the old premises a fond farewell, Professor Timothy Tong, President of the PolyU, said, "With Asia emerging as the global centre of excellence in hospitality and tourism business, we see the need to advance both education and research in hotel and tourism management". "I am confident," he continued, "that the School, with commitment of all concerned, will make Hotel ICON an internationally recognised brand as the best teaching and research hotel in the world".

Echoing Professor Tong's remarks, Professor Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Director of the SHTM, said, "As a purpose-driven School, we are constantly pushing into new areas. We are confident that the international status of the School as a world-class institution will be further strengthened through the success of Hotel ICON".

The event also marked the closure of the School's Millennium Training Restaurant. At the new premises, the SHTM training restaurant will be known as Bistro 1979, reminding students and staff members of the School's humble beginnings in 1979.

PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management is one of the world-leading providers of hospitality and tourism education. It is ranked No. 2 in the world among hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009.

With 60 academic staff drawing from 18 countries, the School offers programmes at levels ranging from PhD to Higher Diploma. It was awarded the 2003 International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators Institutional Achievement Award in recognition of its significant contribution to tourism education, and is designated by United Nations World Tourism Organisation as one of its global Education and Training Centres.

About PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management

For 45 years, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality and Tourism Management" category in ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2024 for the eighth consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the "Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services" category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2023/2024 for seven years in a row; rated No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism" subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017; and ranked No. 1 in Asia in the "Hospitality and Leisure Management" subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism.

The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 90 faculty members from 21 countries and regions around the world, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School's groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, and inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Website: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/shtm/.

Pauline Ngan
Marketing Manager
+852 3400 2634
Hong Kong PolyU