Ombudsman Jack Chan on Tuesday announced a direct investigation into the management of indoor fitness rooms by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), citing severe shortages in mandatory training places and a booking system that may be wasting public resources.

He said the investigation was prompted by a surge in demand for fitness room use, with registered users jumping 56 percent from about 151,000 in 2023 to 236,000 in 2025. Total annual visits rose 50 percent over the same period to 7.26 million.

A preliminary inquiry revealed that the number of places for mandatory briefing sessions and training courses falls far short of demand.

In 2025, the LCSD offered 25,000 places across about 1,000 briefing sessions but received 377,000 applications. For training courses, 58,500 places were available against 257,000 applications.

Currently, people who wish to use LCSD fitness rooms must either hold a qualification from the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China, or complete a three-hour briefing session and pass a written test, or finish a 12-hour training course with an attendance record of at least 80 percent.

"While the LCSD requires members of the public to either possess relevant qualifications or complete its fitness training before they can use its fitness rooms, no similar requirements are in place for other risky sports such as swimming," Chan said.

"The supply of such training falls far short of demand. All these may be the biggest barrier for wider participation in the fitness sport and should be addressed and removed."

The investigation will also examine the booking mechanism for monthly ticket holders.

Since November, monthly ticket holders have been required to book via the SmartPlay system and can cancel up to one hour before a session.

The Ombudsman's office said this arrangement makes it difficult for others to take up vacated slots at short notice, leading to wastage.

Monthly ticket holders also face no penalties for no-shows while there is no cap on daily bookings, Chan pointed out, meaning actual usage often falls short of booked capacity.

"LCSD fitness rooms are publicly funded and affordable. These facilities are scarce public resources and should be reasonably used," he said.

Chan said the probe would also cover utilisation rates, monitoring measures and equipment maintenance. Recommendations for improvement will be made where necessary.


Edited by Edmond Fong