Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) delivered the findings of the Study on the Impact of the Inauguration of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on the Tourism Industry today (17 December). The report revealed that since opened, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has led to a shift in the travel pattern of visitors to Macao, including less frequent use of ferry terminals. Over 70% of visitors to Macao expressed that they would travel to Macao and Hong Kong in one trip, while more than 60% of them would opt for multi-destination travel. The satisfaction level of visitors to Macao towards the bridge overall neared 90%.
MGTO commenced the Study on the Impact of the Inauguration of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on the Tourism Industry in the second quarter of 2019. Through a systematic study, an objective analysis was carried out upon the situation after the inauguration of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (referred to as the “bridge”’). Through conducting face-to-face survey with visitors to Macao at the port upon their departure, the study probed into the transformation of visitors’ travel pattern, their experience and appraisal of the bridge, etc. Face-to-face survey was conducted from April to September 2019 with a total of 3,070 valid questionnaires completed.
A summary of the study report is as follows:
The bridge has transformed visitors’ travel pattern since opened
Figures collected in the study revealed that 42.7% of visitors to Macao stated that they would use ferry terminals (Taipa Ferry Terminal and Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal) less frequently because of the opening of the bridge. The travel pattern (by land versus by sea) has shown more drastic change especially among visitors from Hong Kong, with 60.6% expressing that they would use ferry terminals less frequently following the inauguration of the bridge.
The report also mentioned that while most visitors entered and left the city via the same port of entry, the bridge drew more visitors to harness Macau International Airport. 23.7% of visitors who entered Macao via the bridge (Zhuhai-Macao Port) left the city via Macau International Airport. The bridge also channeled visitors (arriving to Macao by air) to neighboring cities - among visitors who entered Macao via Macau International Airport, 21.9% of them would leave the city via the bridge.
Furthermore, visitors to Macao had a relatively high level of awareness towards the bridge and a high proportion of visitors opted for double-destination/multi-destination travel following the opening of the bridge:
Level of awareness of the bridge: Visitors to Macao had a relatively high level of awareness towards the bridge, i.e. 85.7%.
Reason for use of the bridge: visitors to Macao were inclined to harness the bridge for the major reason — “out of curiosity to experience something new and the over-100-billion infrastructure across sea”, followed by other reasons, namely less travel time and expense.
“Multi-destination”: a high proportion, i.e. approximately 72%, of visitors to Macao expressed that they would travel to Macao and Hong Kong in one trip after the opening of the bridge; over 60% of visitors to Macao expressed that they would travel to Macao and other cities in Mainland China in one trip.
The first five cities where visitors to Macao would visit most frequently because of the inauguration of the bridge are Macao, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The level of satisfaction towards the bridge among visitors to Macao in various aspects (except the supporting transportation between the port and urban districts) exceeded 80%. The level of overall satisfaction reached 89.1%, the highest among all, whereas the level of satisfaction towards the supporting transportation between the port and urban districts is relatively lower at 71.7%.
MGTO will draw on the study report as reference for future work on tourism planning, management and destination marketing, towards more effective promotion and marketing strategies.
Attachment:
Report (Summary) of the Study on the Impact of the Inauguration of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on the Tourism Industry
http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/file/pdf/HZMB_Study_20191217_en.pdf