On an April evening, the Happy Valley Suites at the Hong Kong Football Club buzzed with an unusual energy. Professionals and retirees mingled over dinner, swapping stories not of stock portfolios or property prices but of Antarctic expeditions, African safaris and train journeys across Japan.

They were all clients of Jetour – some for decades – gathered to mark the tour operator’s 50th anniversary. It felt less like a corporate event and more like a family reunion. It’s a familial warmth that Jetour is staking its future on, even as the travel industry remakes itself around screens, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Jetour began life as a Japanese company known as Jet-Asia. When it started operating in Hong Kong in 1976, it specialised in bringing well-heeled Japanese visitors to Hong Kong. Soon after, the company carved a niche in the premium outbound market – curating long-haul itineraries for discerning Hong Kong travellers willing to pay for depth over convenience. It was a bet that suited the times.

The city’s economy was roaring through the 1980s, and a growing class of affluent professionals wanted the world served to them with care. Before clients ever boarded a plane, the company would host tea gatherings at hotels, briefing travellers on what lay ahead and giving them a foretaste of the journey.

Many of its tours were themed: 16-day deep-travel itineraries through Africa, helicopter experiences over New Zealand, wine-country pilgrimages through Chile and Spain. The company is also credited with having introduced cruise travel to Hong Kong and still represents some 25 major lines.

While its travel packages were popular, the company had room for growth with its European offerings. Ronnie Ho Pak-ting, armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the continent after studying in Paris and a decade of experience working in tourism, was the ideal candidate. He joined in 1987 to help Jet-Asia – which would soon become Jetour – develop its European travel market.

In 1997, amid concerns about waning Japanese demand for visits to Hong Kong, Ho and other investors bought the company’s operations in the city and made the gamble to focus purely on outbound business for the Hong Kong market.