News

Consumer Council continues to expand its work on conducting price survey of specific products and provide consumers a more comprehensive source for price comparisons. Aside from the current 14 categories of specific product, the Council recently included 'biscuits' to its pool. The latest price survey on biscuits was conducted earlier by collecting prices of 8 brands of biscuits from 20 retail outlets and price differences of the same brand sold at different retail spots ranged from 5 to 33 percent. Consumer Council collected 8 brands of biscuits from 20 local retail outlets on 14th September. 'Garden Cream Wafers/200g', which was sold at $7.2 to $9.6, recorded the biggest price difference of 33.3 percent and 'Garden Original Saltine/200g', which was sold at $8.5 to $8.9, observed the smallest difference of 4.7 percent. A general price difference of about 20 to 30 percent was also recorded in products such as 'Mcvitie's Digestive/250g', 'OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies/9x29.4g' and 'Pacific Soda Cracker/200g'. The specific price survey on biscuits is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps.
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Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for the Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, is to visit Macao tomorrow at the invitation of the Macao SAR Government. The Government Spokesman Office, in a statement issued today, said Mrs Lam would pay a courtesy call on the Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U, will meet with Mrs Lam, who is also scheduled to look at tourism, leisure and convention facilities before returning to Hong Kong on the same day.
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Deputy Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes visited Guangzhou and Shanghai to attend China (Guangdong) International Tourism Industry Expo (CITIE2012) and Shanghai Tourism Festival 2012 respectively to promote Macau and the joint tourism of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. MGTO set up a booth around the theme "Touching Moments, Experience Macau" in CITIE2012 and distributed tourism promotion materials. A joint booth for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau was also set up in the Expo to promote the tourism products of the three places among Mainland and overseas buyers. Deputy Director Helena Fernandes and Head of Destination Marketing Department of MGTO, Betty Fok attended this event in Guangzhou on September 14 and promoted Macau tourism to the trade. Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Committee, Wang Yang, the Governor of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, Zhu Xiaodan and the Chairman of China National Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei visited the joint booth of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. CITIE2012 grandly took place in Zone A of China Import & Export Fair Pazhou Complex in Guangzhou during September 14 – 16. Leaders of the People's Government of Guangdong Province and Tourism Administration of Guangdong Province as well as over 200 overseas and domestic guests attended the Expo. CITIE2012 is a national-level expo co-organized by China National Tourism Administration and the People's Government of Guangdong Province. The Expo occupied an area of 100,000 square metres with several thousands of exhibition booths, providing a wider space for exhibiting enterprises. After the Expo, Deputy Director Helena Fernandes visited Shanghai to attend the Opening Ceremony Grand Parade of Shanghai Tourism Festival 2012 on September 15. The Grand Parade took place at the most bustling Huaihai Road in Shanghai. 23 floats and 31 performing teams came from over 20 countries and regions from overseas, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, China to present a fantastic performance in the Grand Parade. Macau's float showed unique features and won the audience's great applause at the show. According to the statistics by the tourism festival's organizing committee, about 500,000 Shanghai citizens, overseas and domestic visitors watched this splendid Opening Ceremony Grand Parade.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today exchanged views on the training of local civil servants and co-operation on public administration research when he met the Executive Vice President of Chinese Academy of Governance (CAG), Mr Li Jianhua. The meeting was held at Santa Sancha, after Mr Li had presided over the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on co-operation between the Macao SAR Government and the CAG at Government Headquarters. During the meeting, Mr Chui expressed his gratitude to the CAG for its long-term support. He said the SAR Government would enhance co-operation with the CAG by expanding training courses in various areas and conducting more researches on public administration. Mr Chui said the Government was willing to invest in resources to raise civil servants' standards to meet the needs of the public and new developments of the society. Mr Li praised Mr Chui for the development of the MSAR after its establishment 13 years ago: the CAG would continue to support the SAR Government on training, policy consultation, research and other aspects.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, who was also at the meeting, said she was thankful for the CAG's support and that the SAR Government would participate in more projects provided by CAG in the near future.
Dean of CAG, Mr Yang Keqin, Head of Graduate Institute, Mr Guo Xiaolai, Head of Training Centre, Mr Shao Wenhai, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Cheong Chui Ling, and the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng also attended the meeting.
The new memorandum of understanding provides for more co-operation between the SAR Government and CAG on training, scientific research and decision consulting, to comprehensively improve the SAR Government's policy making features.
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The Inaugural Meeting of the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and the Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit are held under the theme "Better City Life through Tourism" in China National Convention Centre in Beijing during September 14 – 16, 2012. The Macau Special Administrative Region is elected a city member of the Council of World Tourism Cities Federation. Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), João Manuel Costa Antunes attends the event on behalf of the Macau Special Administrative Region. The Inaugural Meeting of World Tourism Cities Federation will be held on September 15. The General Assembly and the Council meeting were first held today to elect the first tenure of city Council members and non-city Council members. Acting Mayor of Beijing is appointed the Chairperson of the Council while the Macau Special Administrative Region, represented by Macau Government Tourist Office, is elected a city member of the Council. During the meeting, Director João Manuel Costa Antunes signed the "World Tourism Cities Federation Beijing Declaration" on behalf of the Macau Special Administrative Region. The 1st World Tourism Cities Expo made its grand inauguration at Wangfujing Street in the afternoon concurrently. Acting Mayor of Beijing, Wang Anshun and Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration, Du Yili ,etc. attended the opening ceremony. Different city members set up booths to showcase their tourism resources in the Expo. MGTO designed the booth around the theme "Touching Moments, Experience Macau" and promoted Macau tourism products and attractions towards Beijing citizens and visitors. Director João Manuel Costa Antunes will address the topic "Tourism Industry Development in Boosting City Development" at the Panel Session of the World Tourism Cities Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit on September 15 and introduce the Macau tourism industry situation to the participants. He will also use the case of Macau to illustrate the event's theme "Better City Life through Tourism" in three perspectives, namely Tourism Economy in Macau, Interplay between Tourism and Economic Development as well as Tourism in Boosting City Development. Many programs are also held during the Summit including World Tourism Cities Gourmet Festival, World Tourism Cities Film Festival, Award Ceremony of Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit of WTCF, among others. Beijing takes the lead and joins hands with various renowned foreign and domestic tourist cities including Barcelona, Berlin, Dubai, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Tianjin and Chongqing to co-establish the World Tourism Cities Federation. According to the Federation, it is a non-profit and non-governmental international organization jointly organized by tourist cities and tourism-related entities in different countries and regions across the world. It is also the world's first international tourism organization which regards cities as major units. World Tourism Cities Federation is founded not only to promote tourism resources among cities but also to foster the implementation of tourism policies at national level through tourism exchange among member cities. World Tourism Cities Federation is ranked the world's 4th largest tourism organization after World Tourism Organization, World Travel & Tourism Council and Pacific Asia Travel Association. Its headquarters will be based permanently in Beijing. Currently the Federation has its first batch of 58 city and non-city members in total as well as 1 observer city.
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Organised by Institute for Tourism Studies 2011-2012 Tourism Event Management Year 3 students and co-organised by Institute for Tourism Studies and Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, "Z Generation, One Destination" series activities had been held successfully on 3 December 2011 at Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre Outdoor Plaza. "Z Generation, One Destination" had created a giant postcard mosaic featuring Macau landmarks with more than 20,000 postcards. This mosaic measured 27.5mX10.89m (299sqm) and has earned the approval from Guinness World Records™ on 12 June 2012 as the Largest Postcard Mosaic in the world. The Guinness World Records™ certificate handover ceremony took place on 14 September 2012 at the Amphitheatre of Institute for Tourism Studies during IFT 17th Anniversary Staff Celebration. The certificate was presented to the Institute for Tourism Studies and received by the President of Institute for Tourism Studies, Dr. Fanny Vong. Besides creating a new record, the event impressed the society by showcasing the solidarity and enthusiasm of the young generation and proving that youth in Macau is capable to strive for their dreams and contribute to the society. From the series of activities held under "Z Generation, One Destination", a total amount of MOP119, 000 had been raised for Caritas Macau and ORBIS for charity purpose. Students mentioned that they felt happy and excited because they had not only learned the theories in class; indeed they had gained practical and challenging experiences in organising the event and the Guinness World Record application process.
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Consumer Council conducted the latest price survey on shampoos and shower gels and the result showed that prices of various brands of shampoo sold at different retail outlets recorded a decrease in comparison to the data collected in July, whereas prices of shower gel brands tended to be stable. Consumer Council conducted a price check on 8 different brands of shampoo and shower gel from 32 retail outlets on 11th September. 4 shampoo brands surveyed recorded decreases in prices at different retail spots. An obvious price difference was recorded for 'Pantene Pro-V Shampoo' (750ml), which recorded a price drop at different retail outlets from minimal to 15 percent, whereas a price increase of about 10 percent for the same brand was recorded at one retail spot. Price for the same brand of both shampoo and shower gel also varied at different retail outlets. For the shampoo brands surveyed, 'Dove damage Therapy intensive Repair Shampoo (700ml) ' recorded the greatest price discrepancy; with the lowest and the highest selling prices recorded at $39.70 and $59.90 respectively, which amounted to a price difference of 50.88 percent. Meanwhile, the greatest price difference recorded for shower gels was 'Dove Beauty Nourishing Body Wash (1,000ml)', with the lowest and the highest selling prices recorded at $33.00 and $48.00 respectively, with a price difference of 45.45 percent. The Council indicates that selling prices of the same product are found to vary in different branches under the same supermarket chain stores. Consumers are advised to check with the data provided by the Council on its website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and its 'Supermarket price information platform' app for both iPhone and Android users to make price comparisons. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 19.5% year-on-year to 825,464 in July 2012. Visitors from Mainland China (606,120) went up by 20.4%, with 256,537 coming from Guangdong Province; besides, those from Taiwan, China (75,261); Hong Kong (35,395) and Japan (24,717) increased by 54.2%, 14.4% and 66.1% respectively. On the contrary, visitors from the Republic of Korea (25,491) decreased by 17.9%. In the first seven months of 2012, visitors in package tours totalled 4,908,359, up by 24.8% year-on-year to account for 30.6% of the total visitor arrivals. Outbound residents in package tours surged by 73.2% year-on-year to 47,405 in July 2012. The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (67.5% of total) and the Republic of Korea (11.0%), with 18,782 travelling to Guangdong Province. In the first seven months of 2012, residents travelling in package tours totalled 226,436, up by 56.4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased by 18.6% year-on-year to 78,088 in July 2012; the main destinations were Mainland China (48.1% of total); Hong Kong (22.3%); and Taiwan, China (15.6%). In the first seven months of 2012, residents travelling under such arrangements increased by 39.7% year-on-year to 479,233. There were 66 hotels and 33 guest-houses operating at the end of July 2012, providing a total of 24,235 guest rooms, an increase of 2,431 rooms (+11.1%) year-on-year; guest rooms of the 5-star hotels accounted for 61.0% of the total. In July 2012, the hotels and guest-houses received 875,640 guests, up by 10.0% year-on-year; the average length of stay decreased by 0.18 night to 1.2 nights. Occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 85.0%, down by 3.2 percentage points; occupancy rate of the hotels was 85.6%, with 4-star hotels leading at 90.1%. Number of guests increased by 11.8% year-on-year to 5,351,950 in the first seven months of 2012; occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 82.1%, down by 0.9 percentage point. From January to July 2012, visitor-guests accounted for 64.9% of the total number of overnight visitors, higher than the 61.5% in the same period of 2011.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP133.2 billion (USD16.68 billion) at the end of August 2012. The reserves increased by 0.3% or MOP0.3 billion from the revised value of MOP132.9 billion (USD16.64 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-August 2012 represented 19 times the currency in circulation or 156.4% of Pataca M2 at end-July 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 0.34 points month-to-month but rose by 5.19 points year-on-year to 98.85 in August 2012. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) joined with Macau Economic Services, Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and 16 local trade entities to attend "The China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition" (CIBTM), the prominent event in Beijing, to jointly promote Macau's Business Tourism as well as Macau's unique tourism products in the Mainland China market. Co-hosted by China National Tourism Administration and Beijing Municipal People's Government, CIBTM is held in China National Convention Centre from September 12 to 14. More than 4,000 professionals, comprising more than 400 exhibiting companies and more than 300 Hosted Buyers, participated in the exhibition. During the exhibition, MGTO promoted "Incentive Travel Stimulation Program" among incentive travel activity organizers and introduced the latest Macau Business Tourism information and products to trade and buyers, striving to expand the Business Tourism market and attract visitors. MGTO also held a trade networking reception at the Macau booth on September 12 to create an exchange and communication platform for the professional buyers and Macau trade representatives who attended the exhibition. Approximately 160 domestic and overseas trade representatives, buyers, media and Macau exhibiting companies attended the reception. Some guest attendees expressed that the Macau trade networking reception can facilitate business connections and enhance their familiarity with the Macau Business Tourism development. CIBTM serves as an important platform for the Macau and Mainland China trade to establish sound business networks and communication channels. It also opened a significant gateway for the Macau trade to cooperate with their counterparts in Mainland China. MGTO participated in the event in the past few years as well. Other main programs in the exhibition include China Meetings Week, Professional Education Program, seminars, inaugural ceremony, networking events, welcome dinner, etc.
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