After comprehensive analyses, the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will submit an evaluation report to the Central Government for the optimisation of the facilitated individual travel scheme. Reports on the city’s capacity for tourists -- compiled by the Secretary for Security, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, and the Institute for Tourism Studies -- have been submitted to the Chief Executive’s Office. The optimisation of the facilitated individual travel scheme will be based on the city’s actual situation and the report, finding a balance between tourism development and the people’s living quality. The Government places great importance on Macao’s capability for receiving visitors, especially during peak holiday periods: and for this Mr Chui convened an inter-departmental meeting before the Lunar New Year and deployed a tourism reception strategy with crowd management at checkpoints and major attractions over the holidays. The facilitated individual travel scheme was introduced in 2003 as a full support from the Central Government to help Macao recover from the economic slowdown brought about by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome disease (SARS). The Government felt that after having been implemented for more than a decade, the time had come to review the scheme and to plan ahead.
