News

Macao and Zhuhai will hold more regular meetings to enhance communication and to widen the scope of co-operation between the two neighbours in the new year. This was disclosed today when the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met with the Secretary of CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee, Mr Li Jia, at the Government Headquarters to exchange views on ways to further bolster co-operation in the new year. During the meeting, Mr Li reviewed the latest developments in Zhuhai and highlighted the progress of the opening up of Hengqin Island by the two governments. He said he believed that Macao and Zhuhai will have closer contact in terms of traffic connections, tourism co-operation, flow of people and goods with the implementation of the Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Framework Agreement. He hoped that the two governments could continuously enhance co-operation on the introduction of investment, air transportation and tourism, he said. Mr Li pointed out that the new developing area of Hengqin Island is an innovative model, of which Hengqin's cultural industry will be developed with the completion of the new Macau University campus in the Island. He said he was optimistic towards the prospects for co-operation of the two places. The two leaders confirmed that they would organise more meetings on a regular base to further follow up on the proposed co-operative projects.
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In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the motorsport event since 1954, the Macau Grand Prix Committee (CGPM) has announced a two weekend Diamond Jubiliee Grand Prix Carnival, with the first race weekend set for November 9-10, and the second to be hosted from November 14-17, 2013. Six races are scheduled to take place on November 9-10, including the MAC/HKG Interport Race and the Macau Touring Car Cup, popular with drivers across Macau, Hong Kong and Asia. The three blue riband headline races: the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix - the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup, the 47th Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix and the double header season finale of the FIA World Touring Car Championship will be held November 14-17 as part of a seven-race weekend. The provisional programme for the 60th Macau Grand Prix will be announced at a later date. The programme will also include the best of the region's motorsport for a diverse and unique celebration and an unforgettable Diamond Jubilee Grand Prix Carnival for drivers, riders, media and fans alike. Over the past 59 years, the support and understanding of the public has been one of the major contributing factors to the international success of the Macau Grand Prix. The Macau Grand Prix Committee is again working with other departments to minimize traffic pressure and to reduce the impact on the public. The Macau Grand Prix Committee would like to express its thanks to the community for the continuing support and understanding .
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Consumers have reflected that the supply of infant milk powder has become quite tense recently and infant milk powder is unavailable in many local retail outlets. Consumers are suggested to visit Consumer Council's website to acquire the service hotlines of milk powder suppliers and get information on where to purchase certain brands of infant milk powder. Consumer Council indicates that the supply of infant milk powder in local market became quite tense and such situation has been informed by both citizens and members of the Legislative Assembly. Related government departments including Health Bureau (SS), Economic Services Bureau (DSE), Provisional Municipal Council (IACM), and Consumer Council met with suppliers of infant milk powder (including Mead Johnson, Abbot, Friso, Snow Brand, Nan Ha, Nestle Excel and Wyeth Gold) in Hong Kong last year and hotlines available to Macao consumers were then set up, enabling suppliers to deal with consumers' problems after calling their hotlines. The Council has recently contacted milk powder suppliers through the available hotlines and was informed that supply of Wyeth Gold and Friso milk powder is quite tense, however, suppliers are continuing to import more products to prepare for the demand during Chinese New Year. All hotlines have been called and confirmed by the Council to ensure normal operation. Service hotlines of infant milk powder suppliers are as follows:
(* please find attached file) For more details, consumers can visit the Council's website: http://www.consumer.gov.mo/e/milk_powder_suppliers_e.asp.
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A total number of 7,222 cases were received by Consumer Council in 2012. The top 5 categories of complaints received were telecommunication services, telecommunication equipment and supplies, food and beverages, electrical appliances and clothing and apparel. Consumer Council indicated that a total number of 7,222 cases were received in 2012, which was 5.43 percent more than the 6,850 cases received in 2011. Among all the cases received, 1,609 were complaints (which amounted to 22.28 percent of the total number of cases received and 4.74 percent less compared to 1,689 complaints received in 2011), 5,520 were inquires (which amounted to 76.43 percent of the total number of cases received and 10.69 percent more compared to 4,987 inquires received in 2011), and the rest of 93 cases were suggestions from consumers (which amounted to 1.29 percent of the total number of cases received and 46.55 percent less compared to 174 suggestions received in 2011). The top 5 categories of complaints were telecommunication services (231 cases, 14.36 percent of total), telecommunication equipment and supplies (202 cases, 12.55 percent of total), food and beverages (124 cases, 7.71 percent of total), electrical appliances (89 cases, 5.53 percent of total) and clothing and apparel (87 cases, 5.41 percent of total) respectively. The top 5 categories of complaints received in 2012 were similar to those in 2011 except that public transportation had been replaced by electrical appliances. Consumer Council indicated that telecommunication services still marked the top of the 5 categories of complaints, cases concerning this category mainly involved issues such as 3G mobile phone charges and data fees, and the number of cases received in 2012 had been decreased by 11 percent compared to 2011. Telecommunication equipment and supplies marked the second top category and mainly involved quality and prices of 3G mobile phones and business practices, the number of cases received in 2012 had been increased by 27 percent compared to 2011. Food and beverages, which marked the third, mainly involved pastries, milk powder, and frozen food, and the number of complaints had been decreased by 16 percent. Electrical appliances replaced public transportation and became fourth in the top 5 categories of complaints and the number of complaint cases, which included television, air conditioner and washing machine, etc., had been increased by 17 percent. The number of cases received under clothing and apparel category was similar to that from 2011 and cases mainly included garments, handbags and shoes, etc.. A total number of 862 cases were received from tourists. Among all these cases, 361 were complaints, 499 were inquiries and 2 were suggestions. In comparison to the numbers from 2011, number of complaint cases had been decreased by 4.75 percent and inquiries had been increased by 3.1 percent. A detailed analysis of the number of cases received in 2012 will be published later by the Council in its monthly magazine Consumer Report.
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IFT installs 4 new self-serviced kiosks in front of the registration counters at both IFT Macao and Taipa campuses for strengthening short courses registration process. This new amenity can facilitate citizens to acquire course information and reduces their average waiting time of enquiries. Meanwhile, the Institute will provide more short courses which can be enrolled online to further enhance the application process. This new amenity not only boosts the efficiency of short course application and handling enquiries, but also enables people to obtain course information and thus serve the purpose of time saving and convenience. By using the self- serviced kiosk, the public can acquire below services or information at ease: Registration for courses enrollment
Applicants can use the kiosk to register for courses which require to undergo the enrollment process before application. Only Macao ID card needs to be inserted for identification and mobile phone number input for the notification of the enrollment result. Course application status checking
Detailed information of the course such as application period, class schedule, course fee, application method, quota, course outline etc. can be checked with the kiosk. Printing service is also available if necessary. On-day course venue checking
Students can check the class venue before class via the kiosk. IFT hopes that with the advanced technology development, more amenities like this can be launched for the convenience of the public and for the improvement of work efficiency. Also, the Institute will utilise more self-serviced amenities in the future depending on the market demand.
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To facilitate registrants to appoint authorized representatives to conduct exchange of the Dragon and Snake Lunar Year banknotes, the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) has come up with a uniform and simple procedure after discussion with banks.
Starting from 17 January 2013, an authorized representative will only need to bring along his / her ID card and submit the following documents to conduct the note exchange on the selected date and location:
1. Authorization form [downloaded from AMCM's website (www.amcm.gov.mo) ] signed by the registrant
2. Registrant's ID copy bearing his / her signature
3. Representative's ID copy bearing his / her signature
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by 4.45% year-on-year to 133.78, attributable to dearer prices of handbags and rising charges for restaurant services. Notable increase was observed in the price index of Clothing & Footwear (+16.46%); Transport & Communications (+7.15%); and Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+6.73%) on account of rising prices of handbags, as well as higher charges for outbound transport and entertainment services. Price index of hotel rooms decreased by 2.40% year-on-year. The average TPI (124.31) for the whole year of 2012 increased by 6.05% year-on-year, with marked increase being recorded in the price index of Restaurant Services (+12.98%); Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+10.97%); and Clothing & Footwear (+10.16%); however, price index of hotel rooms decreased by 0.63%. TPI for the fourth quarter of 2012 rose by 10.99% quarter-to-quarter, of which hotel room rate increased notably during the National Day holidays, the Macao Grand Prix, Christmas break and New Year's Eve, pushing up the price index of Accommodation by 31.92%. Price index of Clothing & Footwear increased by 15.84% quarter-to-quarter upon new arrival of Winter clothing. The 2009/2010-based TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors. Sections of TPI goods and services are based on the consumption pattern of visitors, namely Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) launches the "Tourism Awareness Campaign" again and cooperates with local associations to organize activities. It is estimated that one fifth of Macau citizens will participate in the activities. The purpose of the campaign is to educate citizens about awareness of tourism in a widespread and effective way in order to upgrade tourism resource quality together and create a friendly tourism environment in harmony with the Macau SAR's strategic goal of building a "World Centre of Tourism and Leisure". Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Acting Chief of Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Maria Madalena Leong along with 22 association representatives hosted the Launch Ceremony of "Tourism Awareness Campaign" today (January 15). MGTO launches the "Tourism Awareness Campaign" again, enriching the activities and adopting different devices to cultivate citizens' courtesy towards visitors and introduce Macau tourism resources. It is hoped that every citizen can become a tourism ambassador and share Macau locals' compassion widely. 5 tourism ambassadors with whom citizens are familiar – Helpful, Friendly, Polite, Knowledge and Smiling, continue to uphold the slogan "Be My Guest･Feel at Home" and advocate Macau's warm hospitality. MGTO cooperates with 22 social organizations to organize over 50 activities at the first stage. It is estimated that 100,000 citizens will participate in the activities. The activities include various creative competitions, seminars, training courses, research, promotion activities, World-Heritage-related activities, local tours, carnivals, cultural performance, souvenirs making and game booths, etc.
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The new Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes announced today that the number of visitor arrivals exceeded 28,000,000 last year, registering a growth of 0.3%. MGTO outlined 6 work highlights in accord with the Macau SAR Government's strategic positioning of building a "Word Centre of Tourism and Leisure". The MGTO Annual Press Conference was held at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center today (January 15), followed by the Launch Ceremony of "Tourism Awareness Campaign" presided by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Cheong U. During the conference, MGTO reviewed last year's tourism development. Then Director Fernandes unveiled MGTO's development scheme and marketing promotion activities this year to over 500 attendees including MGTO representatives, travel industry partners as well as international and local media. There were over 100 Hong Kong, Macau and foreign media based in Macau or Hong Kong. MGTO expressed that, according to preliminary figures, the number of visitor arrivals in Macau amounted to 28,082,000 last year, a minor year-on-year increase of 0.3%. There were over 25,000,000 visitors from Greater China, an increase of 0.4%, whereas the number of international visitors dropped slightly by 0.5%. Nonetheless, both the number of overnight-stay visitors and hotel overnight guests rose in the past year. Specifically, the number of hotel overnight guests between January and November registered a double-digit growth. Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan were still ranked as the top 3 visitor source markets. Last year there were close to 17,000,000 Mainland visitors, marking a noteworthy increase of 4.6%. Among the Mainland visitors, 47% came from Guangdong Province. The Thailand and Korea market both showed remarkable performance, with an increase of 17.8% and 11.5% in their visitor numbers respectively. MGTO pointed out that the number of overnight-stay visitors in Macau exceeded 13,000,000 last year, constituting 48.4% of the overall visitors and marking a 5% increase. There were over 8,640,000 hotel overnight guests in the first 11 months, constituting 65% of the overnight-stay visitors and marking a 10.9% increase. Among them, the number of hotel overnight guests from Portugal, Korea and Australia achieved the highest growth rates of 48.7%, 21.2% and 18% respectively. The average length of stay of hotel overnight guests was 1.4 night. The total visitor expenditure from January to September amounted to US$ 28.44 billion, marking a period-on-period growth of 8%. In terms of hotels, the average occupancy rate of Macau hotels and guest houses in the first 11 months was 82.8%, a subtle period-on-period decrease of 0.8%; the average room rate of 3 to 5 stars hotels was US$177.10, which increased slightly by 6.4%. The number of inbound visitors in package tour from January to November surpassed 8,230,000, a period-on-period growth of 22.5%. Among others, the number of package-tour visitors from Russia, Portugal and Taiwan, China raised the most by 122.9%, 107.3% and 71.9% respectively. Up to date, there are 102 hotels in Macau among which 46 are budget accommodation, providing 26,719 rooms in total. Among them, 1,480 rooms are budget-accommodation rooms. The MGTO information counters received a total of 1,390,000 visitor feedbacks and enquiries for information last year. In terms of fighting illegal accommodation, the interdepartmental working groups inspected over 1000 premises, sealed 116 premises and unsealed 220 premises last year; in addition, MGTO had waged sanctions against 58 operators, 28 touts and 12 managing staff. MGTO completed 4 recruitments involving 77 vacancies. 48 new staff members joined the office last year. Currently MGTO has 367 employees, a rise of 12.6% compared with 2011. In terms of the UNWTO international ranking, according to the number of international visitor arrivals in 2011, Macau was ranked the 20th position around the world and the 5th in Asia-Pacific region; according to the tourism revenue in 2011, Macau was ranked the 7th place in the world and the 2nd in Asia-Pacific region. MGTO introduces 6 work highlights Director Fernandes stated that it has become the strategic orientation of Macau development to build the city into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. In pursuit of the goal, MGTO will formulate tourism policies and measures in a timely manner. It is equally important to try to extend the length of visitor stay in Macau, and not simply the pursuit of visitor arrival numbers. This year MGTO focuses on 6 work highlights: 1. Sum up planning and research, deepen tourism and leisure system; 2. Optimize industry management and training, actively promote quality tourism; 3. Develop cultural tourism products, promote events and festivals; 4. Support community tourism, strengthen public communication; 5. Innovate promotional techniques, explore new markets; 6. Participate in international organizations, strengthen regional cooperation. She pointed out that MGTO will launch a series of projects in accord with the 6 work highlights, including a proposal to carry out the "Tourism Development Master Plan" and formulation of a medium and long-term tourism development plan in an overall aspect; incessantly fighting against illegal accommodation; initiating a study of the demand on tourism human resources training and the project of "Tourism Awareness Campaign", etc.; continuously deepening Macau tourism product development including cultural, festive and shopping tourism; fostering the development of local small and medium enterprises while enhancing community attraction and launching the development plan for community tourism; carrying out promotion with multi-media and interactive devices, actively exploring new markets and promoting one-trip-multi-stops tourism; continuing to follow up tourism-related work as stated in the "Guangdong-Macau Cooperation Framework Agreement" while discussing the related cooperation schemes and following up the recommendations in the "Tourism Cooperational Planning for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau" in response to the new development in Nansha and Hengqin. Fernandes went further to present community tourism and stated that MGTO will introduce the "Development Plan for Community Tourism" to develop community tourism in cooperation with local associations. The contents include guidebook publication, cultural festival and development of tourism information systems. The target communities are the Islands and Northern Districts of Macau. Director Fernandes also mentioned the office will bring forth innovative promotion techniques and add "Vibrant Moment" on top of the 4 existing "Moments" in order to set off Macau's image as the "City of Events". With promotion by multi-media and interactive devices, MGTO has launched the Beta (trial) version of MGTO's new website and is going to introduce more Smartphone travel applications. On the other hand, the office plans to renovate its various information counters. In terms of marketing promotion, the office endeavors to exploit visitor source markets such as Southeast Asia, Russia, etc. and set up its market representative in Russia as well as promoting one-trip-multi-stops tourism. Meanwhile, MGTO plans to promote the High-Speed Rail tours to Macau. This year, the festive highlights will fall upon the 25th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest, the 60th Macau Grand Prix and the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP132.5 billion (USD16.60 billion) at the end of December 2012. The reserves increased by 0.5% or MOP0.7 billion from the revised value of MOP131.8 billion (USD16.51 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-December 2012 represented 18 times the currency in circulation or 146.5% of Pataca M2 at end-November 2012. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, fell by 0.44 points month-to-month and 0.34 points year-on-year to 96.85 in December 2012.
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