Gearing up for festival holidays
In preparation for the upcoming 1st October National Day Holidays from 1 – 7 October, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has been carrying out measures in advance to promote the destination and different travel offers, while publicizing information on pandemic prevention and spotlighting Macao as a safe and quality destination, getting ready to welcome visitors.
Promote pandemic prevention info and Macao as a safe and quality destination
MGTO leverages different channels to inform visitors comprehensively about the pandemic situation and prevention, including posting pandemic prevention information on its website and official accounts on WeChat and Weibo, distributing leaflets of “Pandemic prevention tips for Mainland visitors in Macao” at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters at various ports of entry, while reminding travel industry operators to carry out pandemic preventive measures in accordance with related advices and guidelines issued by Health Bureau against COVID-19. Hotels and tourism businesses also continue to help spread messages about pandemic prevention among visitors.
Rigorous patrols and 24-hour operation of Tourism Hotline
During the National Day Holidays, the Office will conduct patrols at various tourist spots, ports of entry and districts, besides overseeing measures taken by hotels against the pandemic, with MGTO inspectors standing by round-the-clock. Tourist Information counters tend to visitors’ enquiries, whereas MGTO's Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 maintains its 24-hour operator service.
Drone Gala debuts on National Day
Macao Food Guide boosts spending in communities
As a new event organized by MGTO, the “Light up Macao Drone Gala” will be staged above Nam Van Lake on 1, 3, 9, 16 and 23 October. Five professional teams from Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are invited to dazzle Macao’s night sky twice per night. 300 drones in formation will form various patterns under different themes during each session of the drone shows, resembling a constellation of stars which adorn the city’s night skyline. The Gala will conjure nighttime entertainment experience fresh for the eyes of residents and visitors, in turn fostering nighttime economic development.
MGTO partners with the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District as well as the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao to publish the "Macao Food Guide for National Day Holidays" (Chinese and electronic version only), offering a contact list of restaurants and eateries open during the National Day Holidays. The Office also supports local organizations to hold a range of community activities during festivities and holidays in October to stimulate travel and spending in communities, including the Tour Macao Fun Fair and the Community Tourism Plan for Chinese Temples – Macau Temple Adventures 2021.
Macao Grand Prix Museum welcomes ticket purchase in advance for scheduled visits
The Macao Grand Prix Museum is open to the public as usual (closed on Tuesdays). Residents and visitors are welcome to purchase tickets in advance for visit to the Museum on 1 – 7 October via MGTO’s online ticketing system (eticket.macaotourism.gov.mo), while immediate entry tickets are also available for sale at the Museum, with quota of tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. The Museum will provide free public guided service in language as follows: Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese and English. Each session lasts about 45 minutes. Museum visitors are welcome to check out the timetable on the official website and sign up for the guided service on site. Due to limited quota, the guided service will be signed up on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ongoing online & offline promotions and special offers
In terms of online promotion, since the pandemic situation stabilized in Macao, MGTO has immediately stepped up its marketing endeavors, not only promoting Macao as a safe and quality destination to Mainland residents on its official accounts on WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, but also continuing to partner with various e-commerce platforms where a series of travel, hotel and air-ticket special offers are launched to attract visitors to Macao, stimulate rises in tourism expenditure and extend visitors’ length of stay in Macao.
The “MAK MAK Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Pass” Scheme is going on at present, allowing visitors arriving in Macao by Air Macau flights to obtain a special LRT Pass at the Macau International Airport by presenting their valid travel document and boarding pass. With the special LRT Pass, visitors can enjoy unlimited rides of the Light Rapid Transit System in Macao for three days. The scheme aims to offer visitors a wider convenient choice of transportation in Macao, to spur spending in local communities.
Tailored for visitor markets, the Macao Highlight Tours was launched this May to let visitors experience Macao’s profound history, cultural landscape and “tourism+” elements. Designated Information counters are set up at six local hotels and integrated resorts in Macao to welcome signups for the Highlight Tours on site.
To enhance offline promotion, the Macao Week in Sichuan•Chengdu is held in late September while a range of promotional initiatives are ready to unfold. Around the National Day Holidays, MGTO rolls out promotional commercials on TV channels across visitor source markets in Mainland China, forging ahead to promote and highlight Macao as a healthy and safe destination.
