GGCT advises Macau residents not to travel to Fukushima or Sendai and to be aware of personal safety

As a consequence of another explosion that occurred Today (14 March) at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, Japan. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) would like to once again advise Macao residents to avoid travelling to the most affected areas, and those who are currently there to be attentive to safety instructions of the Japanese government, and to take necessary measures to ensure personal safety. GGCT continues to monitor the situation and the effects of the severe earthquake that occurred in northeast Japan, while maintaining contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao, the travel industry ,the Health Bureau (SS), The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the Macao Government's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Macao Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan. GGCT would like to remind that Macao residents and tourists in Japan that in case of need, they may contact the appropriate entities through the tourism hotline: 28333000. According to information from the Macao Travel Industry Council (TICM), all group tours organized by travel agencies under TICM to Japan until the 20th of March via Macao are cancelled. The tour participants that have paid for their reservations may reschedule their tour dates for the period of the next six months or negotiate with their travel agencies in order to exchange for different tourism travel destinations. Air Macau has also informed their passengers holding tickets to Tokyo and Osaka until the 18th and return tickets until the 19th, that they may reschedule or cancel their reservations in this case refund. For additional information the interested parties may access the airline's webpage: www.airmacau.com.mo. Due to the last Friday's earthquake, replicas can still be felt. Transportation and Telecommunications in Japan are still not totally functional. GGCT is closely monitoring the situation and appeals to Macao residents and tourists to be attentive to their personal safety and instructions of the Japanese government. Up till today (14 March) 17:00, GGCT received an accumulated total of 165 calls for inquiries and continues to follow-up the requests and give out necessary support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued emergency announcements for all Chinese tourists to reconsider travelling to Japan and avoid the cities which were most affected by the catastrophe, Fukushima and Sendai. Meanwhile, due to last Friday's earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a 24 hours contact service for Chinese citizens that are currently in Japan: 03-3403-3388, extensions 8881, 8882, 8712. For further information related to the situation in Japan, interest parties may also gather further information from the following web-portals: SMG: http://www.smg.gov.mo
SS: http://www.ssm.gov.mo
IAS: http://www.ias.gov.mo