24 March 2025

As Hong Kong’s population ages at an unprecedented rate, how can challenges be transformed into opportunities? Today, the Research Centre for Gerontology and Family Studies (the Centre) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) hosted the launch ceremony of the “Jockey Club Age-friendly Co-creation Project” (the Project). Supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (The Trust), the event brought together government officials, academics, and sectors leaders to explore how age-friendly measures can enhance the quality of life for the ageing adults (50+) while unleashing the potential of the silver economy, paving the way for an “Age-friendly city.

During the ceremony, the Centre unveiled groundbreaking research findings, demonstrating that age-friendly measures can increase ageing adults’ spending willingness by an impressive 146%. This revelation provides businesses with critical insights to foster age-friendly communities, highlighting the dual benefits of social responsibility and economic growth.

Distinguished guests attending the launch ceremony included Dr the Hon LAM Ching-choi, SBS, JP, Member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Centre; Mr HO Kai-ming, JP, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the HKSAR Government; Ms Annie Ng, Senior Manager, Charities, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Professor Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Dr Laura Lo, Associate Vice President (Institutional Advancement) of PolyU; Professor Eric Chui Wing-hong, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at PolyU; Dr Pun Zee Pamsy HUI, Senior Lecturer and Associate Head of the Department of Management and Marketing at PolyU; and Professor BAI Xue, Director of the Research Centre for Gerontology and Family Studies at PolyU and Project Leader of the “Jockey Club Age-friendly Co-creation Project.”

Building an Age-friendly City Together

Mr Ho Kai-ming, JP, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, reinforced the Hong Kong SAR Government's commitment to fostering an age-friendly environment. He highlighted that over two million Senior Citizen Cards have been issued, with approximately 90% of the elderly population residing within the community, while noting that 30,000 are awaiting subsidised residential care places, and 50,000–60,000 currently reside in care homes. With Hong Kong's increasing life expectancy (males reaching 82 and females 88), Mr Ho underscored the government's dedication to supporting active and independent living for the elderly over the next three decades. He emphasised the government's commitment to cross-sector collaboration in enhancing elderly well-being and developing the silver market, with the aim of establishing Hong Kong as a leading age-friendly city in the Greater Bay Area.

Mr Ho expressed gratitude to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Research Centre on Ageing and Family Studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for their valuable contributions, noting the potential of these initiatives to transform challenges into opportunities. He further acknowledged the support from all sectors of society and reaffirmed the government's ongoing commitment to collaborative efforts in building a more age-friendly Hong Kong.

Professor Miranda LOU expressed gratitude to The Trust for its support, enabling the Centre to host the Project and inject fresh momentum into Hong Kong’s age-friendly development. Leveraging academic expertise, PolyU will transfer research findings into actionable solutions through four key strategies — Engage and Understand, Build Capacity, Recognise, and Sustain Efforts — encouraging stakeholders to integrate age-friendly elements into their services and operations.

Latest Research Findings: Age-friendly Measures Significantly Boost Ageing Adults’ Spending Willingness

Professor BAI Xue and Dr. LIU Mengyu, Research Assistant Professor at the Centre, unveiled the latest research findings.

Professor BAI explained, “To better understand the ageing adults’ satisfaction with age-friendly business (AFB) and their spending patterns, the Centre employed a survey experiment approach, simulating various consumption scenarios to assess responses to different age-friendly measures.” The study drew on the Centre’s longitudinal database, incorporating a dedicated module on age-friendly business to explore their impact on spending willingness and their associations with health and well-being.

The research included in-depth interviews with over 20 local and international companies and industry associations across sectors such as catering, retail, property management, public transport, technology, and social enterprises. Insights were gathered from mid-to-senior management, decision-makers, and frontline staff, complemented by telephone survey data from 3,000 Hong Kong residents aged 50 and above.

The study found that the ageing adults' satisfaction with local age-friendly business measures remains low, with satisfaction levels generally below 25%, indicating substantial room for improvement in addressing the needs of an ageing society.

The findings revealed that improvements in the physical environment, staff and personnel, marketing and information, and products and services can increase ageing adults' spending willingness by 13.8% to 39.8%. Friendly staff attitudes had the most significant impact, boosting spending willingness by nearly 40% (39.8%). When all four measures were combined, spending willingness surged by up to 146%, highlighting a strong effect of AFB on consumer behavior.

Professor BAI emphasised, “Age-friendly Business is not just a social responsibility but also a sustainable development opportunity. This Project aims to make Hong Kong a more inclusive and happier city while realising long-term growth of the silver market and boosting social benefits.

Four Strategies to Co-create an Age-friendly Future
To help businesses transfer research into actionable practices, the Project will adopt four key strategies — Engage and Understand, Build Capacity, Recognise, and Sustain Efforts. The “Age-friendly Business Capacity Building Programme” will offer tailored training for the retail, shopping mall, and catering sectors, covering four themes: physical environment, staff and personnel, marketing and information, and products and services. Through training seminars, experiential learning labs, and co-creation workshops, participants will gain a deeper understanding of ageing adults' needs and learn to integrate age-friendly concepts into daily operations, developing measures which are more convenient for the community-dwelling ageing adults.

“Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme” Now Open for Applications
To encourage more businesses and organisations to participate, the Project organises the “Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme 2024/2025” with multiple special awards, including Age-friendly Employer Award, Age-friendly Facilities Award, Age-friendly Innovation Award, Age-friendly Collaborator Award, Our City’s Story Award, and My Favourite City Partnership Scheme Award (determined by public voting and judging panel assessment). These awards recognise companies or organisations with outstanding contributions to promoting age-friendly culture and the Scheme is now open for application.

Companies and organisations implementing age-friendly practice, or offering a product or service that caters to the needs of ageing adults are invited to submit their applications by 11 April 2025. For details, please visit the Project’s website: https://jccitypartnership.hk.

During the ceremony, the Centre unveiled groundbreaking research findings, demonstrating that age-friendly measures can increase ageing adults’ spending willingness by an impressive 146%. This revelation provides businesses with critical insights to foster age-friendly communities, highlighting the dual benefits of social responsibility and economic growth.

Distinguished guests attending the launch ceremony included Dr the Hon LAM Ching-choi, SBS, JP, Member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR Government and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Centre; Mr HO Kai-ming, JP, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare of the HKSAR Government; Ms Annie Ng, Senior Manager, Charities, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Professor Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Dr Laura Lo, Associate Vice President (Institutional Advancement) of PolyU; Professor Eric Chui Wing-hong, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at PolyU; Dr Pun Zee Pamsy HUI, Senior Lecturer and Associate Head of the Department of Management and Marketing at PolyU; and Professor BAI Xue, Director of the Research Centre for Gerontology and Family Studies at PolyU and Project Leader of the “Jockey Club Age-friendly Co-creation Project.”

Building an Age-friendly City Together

Mr Ho Kai-ming, JP, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, reinforced the Hong Kong SAR Government's commitment to fostering an age-friendly environment. He highlighted that over two million Senior Citizen Cards have been issued, with approximately 90% of the elderly population residing within the community, while noting that 30,000 are awaiting subsidised residential care places, and 50,000–60,000 currently reside in care homes. With Hong Kong's increasing life expectancy (males reaching 82 and females 88), Mr Ho underscored the government's dedication to supporting active and independent living for the elderly over the next three decades. He emphasised the government's commitment to cross-sector collaboration in enhancing elderly well-being and developing the silver market, with the aim of establishing Hong Kong as a leading age-friendly city in the Greater Bay Area.

Mr Ho expressed gratitude to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and the Research Centre on Ageing and Family Studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for their valuable contributions, noting the potential of these initiatives to transform challenges into opportunities. He further acknowledged the support from all sectors of society and reaffirmed the government's ongoing commitment to collaborative efforts in building a more age-friendly Hong Kong.

Professor Miranda LOU expressed gratitude to The Trust for its support, enabling the Centre to host the Project and inject fresh momentum into Hong Kong’s age-friendly development. Leveraging academic expertise, PolyU will transfer research findings into actionable solutions through four key strategies — Engage and Understand, Build Capacity, Recognise, and Sustain Efforts — encouraging stakeholders to integrate age-friendly elements into their services and operations.

Latest Research Findings: Age-friendly Measures Significantly Boost Ageing Adults’ Spending Willingness

Professor BAI Xue and Dr. LIU Mengyu, Research Assistant Professor at the Centre, unveiled the latest research findings.

Professor BAI explained, “To better understand the ageing adults’ satisfaction with age-friendly business (AFB) and their spending patterns, the Centre employed a survey experiment approach, simulating various consumption scenarios to assess responses to different age-friendly measures.” The study drew on the Centre’s longitudinal database, incorporating a dedicated module on age-friendly business to explore their impact on spending willingness and their associations with health and well-being.

The research included in-depth interviews with over 20 local and international companies and industry associations across sectors such as catering, retail, property management, public transport, technology, and social enterprises. Insights were gathered from mid-to-senior management, decision-makers, and frontline staff, complemented by telephone survey data from 3,000 Hong Kong residents aged 50 and above.

The study found that the ageing adults' satisfaction with local age-friendly business measures remains low, with satisfaction levels generally below 25%, indicating substantial room for improvement in addressing the needs of an ageing society.

The findings revealed that improvements in the physical environment, staff and personnel, marketing and information, and products and services can increase ageing adults' spending willingness by 13.8% to 39.8%. Friendly staff attitudes had the most significant impact, boosting spending willingness by nearly 40% (39.8%). When all four measures were combined, spending willingness surged by up to 146%, highlighting a strong effect of AFB on consumer behavior.

Professor BAI emphasised, “Age-friendly Business is not just a social responsibility but also a sustainable development opportunity. This Project aims to make Hong Kong a more inclusive and happier city while realising long-term growth of the silver market and boosting social benefits.

Four Strategies to Co-create an Age-friendly Future
To help businesses transfer research into actionable practices, the Project will adopt four key strategies — Engage and Understand, Build Capacity, Recognise, and Sustain Efforts. The “Age-friendly Business Capacity Building Programme” will offer tailored training for the retail, shopping mall, and catering sectors, covering four themes: physical environment, staff and personnel, marketing and information, and products and services. Through training seminars, experiential learning labs, and co-creation workshops, participants will gain a deeper understanding of ageing adults' needs and learn to integrate age-friendly concepts into daily operations, developing measures which are more convenient for the community-dwelling ageing adults.

“Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme” Now Open for Applications
To encourage more businesses and organisations to participate, the Project organises the “Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme 2024/2025” with multiple special awards, including Age-friendly Employer Award, Age-friendly Facilities Award, Age-friendly Innovation Award, Age-friendly Collaborator Award, Our City’s Story Award, and My Favourite City Partnership Scheme Award (determined by public voting and judging panel assessment). These awards recognise companies or organisations with outstanding contributions to promoting age-friendly culture and the Scheme is now open for application.

Companies and organisations implementing age-friendly practice, or offering a product or service that caters to the needs of ageing adults are invited to submit their applications by 11 April 2025. For details, please visit the Project’s website: https://jccitypartnership.hk.