Seventh Round of Funding Scheme for Supporting the Tourism Industry under the Anti-epidemic Fund (provided under Tourism Industry Additional Support Scheme)

The Government has launched the seventh round of subsidy scheme for supporting the tourism industry under the Anti-epidemic Fund (“AEF”), which includes a new round of subsidy provided under the Tourism Industry Additional Support Scheme (the Scheme) as follows -

1. provide to each eligible licensed travel agent with a one-off cash subsidy:
   
   
   1. for travel agents with 10 staff members or less: a flat rate of $50,000 each;
      
      
   2. for travel agents with 11 staff members or more: the subsidy level will be directly proportional to the number of staff members they had, using a subsidy level of $5,000 per staff member as the basis of calculation. and
      
      

      No application is required for eligible travel agents which received subsidy in the last round (i.e. received subsidy between January and February 2022), the headcount to be used for calculating this new round of subsidy will be the number approved in the last round.
      
      For travel agents which have never applied for subsidy or have not applied in the last round, application is required. The headcount to be used for calculating this new round of subsidy will be determined by the approving authority based on the information to be submitted by the applicant and the number of “eligible travel agent’s staff” of the Scheme it employs.

2. provide each eligible travel agent’s staff a one-off subsidy of $7,500.

Eligibility

1. “Eligible travel agent”: a travel agent holding a valid travel agent licence (issued under the Travel Agents Ordinance (Cap. 218)) on 8 February 2022 and when the subsidy under the Scheme is disbursed.
   
   
2. “Eligible travel agent's staff”:
   
   
   1. staff employed by an eligible travel agent of the Scheme*; or
      
      
   2. Staff of travel agents who received subsidy in the second or subsequent round(s) of subsidy scheme for supporting the tourism industry under AEF, including those whose employer travel agent had closed down on or before 8 February 2022, and
      
      *For staff of a travel agent which was licensed after 14 February 2020 and still holds a valid licence when this new round of subsidy is disbursed, and staff employed by an eligible travel agent after 31 March 2020, he/she must be the employee of an eligible travel agent on 8 February 2022, and the relevant staff's MPF account must be set up by the employer travel agent in accordance with the requirements of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance, and with continuous mandatory contribution made for two months, on or before 8 February 2022. Staff employed by an eligible travel agent licensed on or after 8 December 2021 will be dealt with separately.

Disbursement of Subsidy

No application is required for eligible travel agents and eligible travel agents' staff who received subsidy in the last round. The Government has sent SMS notifications to them about the disbursement arrangement of this new round of subsidy. If eligible persons need to update their bank account information for receiving the subsidy, they are required to complete the form below and submit to the Travel Agents Registry on or before 23 February 2022 -

• Application for Change of Bank Account Information (for Travel Agents)
• Application for Change of Bank Account Information (for Travel Agents’ Staff and Freelance Accredited Tourist Guides and Tour Escorts)

For eligible travel agents and eligible travel agents’ staff who have never applied for subsidy or have not applied in the last round, they are required to submit application with documentary proof to the Travel Agents Registry on or before 17 March 2022. Application details are as follows:

• Guide to Application
• Application Form

If a person applies for financial assistance under any other scheme(s) of AEF 6.0 based on his/her occupation, he/she should not be receiving this round of subsidy under the Scheme even if he/she is also an “Eligible travel agent’s staff”. If any “Eligible travel agent’s staff” applies for financial assistance under any other scheme(s) of AEF 6.0 based on his/her occupation, he/she is required to complete the form below and submit to the Travel Agents Registry on or before 23 February 2022 –

• Letter of Confirmation -Opt out from the Tourism Industry Additional Support Scheme under the Anti-epidemic Fund

If any “Eligible travel agent’s staff” had not notified the Travel Agents Registry but was found to have been disbursed with financial assistance from both this round of subsidy under the Scheme and the subsidy of any other scheme(s) under AEF 6.0, the relevant person must return the over-provided subsidies and may have to bear the relevant legal responsibilities.

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact the Travel Agents Registry: