Business talks between Macao and Taiwan travel trade
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is hosting spring banquets and travel marts in Taiwan on 3 and 4 March, to present its major goals this year and showcase Macao’s tourism products, festivals and events in 2016 while enhancing its exchange and partnership with travel trade and media in Taiwan. The mission aims to foster Taiwan market growth, attract various market segments and widen the diversity of visitor source markets for Macao. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Deputy Director Cecilia Tse are joining the spring banquets and travel marts held in Taipei and Kaohsiung today (3 March) and tomorrow (4 March) together with over 20 members of travel trade from Macao. Director of Taipei Office, Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, Man Hongwei, Head of Macau Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan, China, Nadia Leong Kit Chi, Chairman of Travel Agent Association of Taiwan, Louis Hsu, and Chairman of Taipei Association of Travel Agents, Wu Zhi Jian, were present in the spring dinner tonight among others. Heads of Kaohsiung Association of Travel Agents is also invited to the spring banquet in Kaohsiung tomorrow. Great performance of Taiwan market in 2015 As Director Senna Fernandes remarked, Taiwan has long been the third largest visitor source market for Macao. Last year, Taiwanese visitor arrivals topped 980,000 in Macao, a rise of 3.6% over 2014, with a remarkable surge of 10% in overnight visitors to a record of 450,000 and more. The volume of overnight visitors from Taiwan in January 2016 even spiked up by 30%. The significant rises have proved Macao one of the major leisure destinations for Taiwanese residents to visit. According to figures provided by the Statistics and Census Service, 45.6% of Taiwanese visitors, equivalent to over 450,000 visitor-times, stayed overnight in Macao in 2015. Close to 380,000 overnight visitors stayed in hotels, accounting for 84% of all overnight visitors from Taiwan last year. 66.8% of hotel overnight guests from Taiwan stayed in five-star hotels and 26.8% in four-star hotels. The number of Taiwanese visitors who stayed in four-star hotels rose drastically by 32.6% over 2014. The average length of stay in Macao hotel establishments for Taiwanese visitors was 1.8 nights. The above figures show that the Taiwan market performed remarkably last year. Attract various market segments to experience Macao their own style A total of four airlines in Macao currently offer direct flights between Macao and the three cities in Taiwan including Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. Targeting the Taiwan market, MGTO will keep joining hands with airlines and tour operators to develop cultural, festive and shopping tour packages, itineraries and styles to explore Macao, tailor-made for a diversity of market segments such as family visitors, office workers, female visitors, newlyweds and silver peers. Moreover, the Office will carry out more promotion activities targeting travel trade in different cities and counties of Taiwan and support local trade across Taiwan to form an alliance to promote travel to Macao. Riding on the promotional alliance and travel fairs, tour operators can jointly promote themed group tours to Macao, such as World Heritage tours and “Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities” walking tours, to attract visitors from different districts of Taiwan to come to Macao, explore different communities and experience the city’s aroma in their own style. MGTO has launched a brand-new promotional video themed “Experience Macao Your Own Style” in 2016, to convey the key message that every visitor can enjoy a memorable trip in Macao in any style the visitor wishes. MGTO's Public Relations Consultant in Taiwan will design different styles for Taiwanese residents to experience Macao according to their preference. MGTO continuously supports Macao to radiate a stronger synergistic effect by rolling out an array of promotional activities across visitor source markets to showcase a colorful calendar of events combining tourism, cultural and sports elements. Moreover, the Office is dedicated to developing a greater variety of tourism elements in different combinations and widening the level of collaboration between tourism, culture and sports for a more far-reaching effect of destination marketing, to showcase Macao’s image as a City of Events. Beyond the city, the Office also strives to widen and deepen its partnership with other destinations around the region by carrying on its efforts to promote multi-destination tourism products, so that visitors with different demands can enjoy a greater variety of choices. The above efforts are made to foster visitor market diversification in hope of drawing more Taiwanese visitors to Macao. This press release is available at: http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/index.php
