Macau Government Tourist Office’s Annual Marketing Meeting and Tourism Forum kicked off this morning (July 5) at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U was present at the opening ceremony and delivered the opening speech. MGTO invited speakers from various departments to the Tourism Forum - “Connecting History and the Future: New Opportunities for Macau’s Tourism Development” which was attended by 300 travel trade representatives. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary Cheong expressed that Macau has returned to her Motherland for ten years, and with great support of the Central Government, effective administration of the SAR government and persevering efforts of different departments, coupled with cooperation of the industry and the support and participation of the public, the society of Macau continues to advance and has made significant achievements in various aspects. It is encouraging to see that the tourism industry, being the pillar of the local economy, is developing at a satisfactory pace. He said that the urban planning, transportation, environmental protection and landscape design is closely related to the tourism industry and the Light Rapid Transit, Urban Pedestrian System, Old District Redevelopment, overall planning of the Ruins of St Paul’s - Core World Heritage Zone and its surrounding area, among others, all support the development goal of building Macau into a world tourism and leisure destination. He noted that the SAR government will also develop cultural and creative industries, which will be integrated with tourism to showcase the diverse features of cultural tourism. Moreover, tourism promotion should progress with the times by incorporating more technology and electronic methods to elevate promotional effectiveness. He pointed out that it is foreseeable that Macau will undergo an extensive change in the future and when advanced urban planning and transportation system interweave with invaluable world heritage “The Historic Center of Macau”; this city of Southern China will emanate the unique charming characteristics of old and new, east and west. Secretary Cheong added that the representatives of MGTO shoulder crucial responsibilities in Macau’s tourism promotion and he encouraged the representatives to look further ahead to proactively plan for future promotional projects, and explore among the new opportunities presented by Macau, favorable and suitable elements to be deployed in effective promotional strategies, to introduce Macau to the world and to contribute more effort in building Macau into the world’s tourism and leisure destination. Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes reviewed the tourism performance, highlighted MGTO’s quality tourism initiatives and outlined the new opportunities the urban planning brings to the tourism industry in Macau. He pointed out that visitor arrivals in the first 5 months exceeded 10 million, a surge of 15.8%. Among which, 53% are visitors from the Mainland, 29% from Hong Kong, 5% from Taiwan, and 12% from international markets. Affected by the global financial crisis, international visitors recorded a negative growth last year. However, from January to May this year, international visitor numbers achieved an encouraging growth of almost 13%. For the first five months, overnight stay visitors made up 48% of total visitor arrivals. Overnight guests in hotels for the first four months surged by 15% and represented 64.2% of total overnight stay visitors. The average length of stay was 1.51 nights, a slight rise of 0.12 nights. He continued that the top ten visitor generating markets recorded positive growth this year, except Thailand which was affected by its own political situation. Among the ten markets, Korea, the Mainland and Japan registered the largest gains of 64%, 24% and 12% respectively. He expressed that at present there are 62 2 to 5-star deluxe hotels providing over 20,000 rooms and 31 guesthouses with 576 rooms. There are 145 licensed travel agencies, 1,408 licensed tour guides and 24 ground transfer agents. He stressed that the SAR government is putting full effort in realizing the goal of quality tourism and, through law amendment as well as close cooperation with cross-departmental working groups, measures have been stepped up in inspection and cracking down of illegal accommodation. MGTO will also strengthen inspections at checkpoints and tourist attractions in addition to setting up inspection points at the Macau Ferry Terminal to combat illegal tour guides. It will at the same time launch promotion on tourist education and food safety. Antunes pointed out that MGTO organized this Tourism Forum, themed “Connecting History and the Future: New Opportunities for Macau’s Tourism Development”, with the aim to introduce to travel and tourism industry partners and MGTO representatives around the world a series of projects including urban planning, transportation system, revitalization of world heritage sites and e-marketing, which will directly or indirectly bring new opportunities to Macau’s tourism industry. He believed that four hundred years of cultural exchange between the East and West had nurtured Macau’s unique cultural heritage, an invaluable resource of Macau’s tourism industry, which, through cross-departmental cooperation and civic participation, should identify and explore suitable elements to strengthen Macau’s tourism industry and attract visitors from different markets, to contribute in building Macau into the world’s tourism and leisure destination. The Forum was moderated by Deputy Director of MGTO Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, with Lao Iong, Head of Urban Panning Department, Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Kuong Vai Cheok, Head of Transport Planning and Development Department, Transport Bureau, Cheong Cheok Kio, Head of Cultural Heritage Department, Cultural Affairs Bureau and Cheng Wai Tong, Head of Research and Planning Department, MGTO as speakers on two panels: “The Short and Medium-term City Development and Strategies for Macau” and “Heritage and Cultural Tourism and E-marketing” respectively. After the Tourism Forum, MGTO hosted a luncheon for the guests and travel trade, which was followed by a mini mart held for local trade partners to meet with representatives of MGTO to discuss business opportunities to bring in more visitors. 46 MGTO representatives from 16 countries/regions will have internal meetings with MGTO directors and department heads to discuss marketing strategies and tactics for next year.
