News

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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The Global Tourism Economy Forum．Macau 2012 ("GTEF" or "the Forum"), one of the most prominent international events of the year, concluded on September 11th with tremendous success, bringing to an end three days which collected international representatives of industry and high-ranking decision makers from both public and private sectors. The Forum attracted over 1,000 delegates from more than 20 countries and cities from all over the world. Featuring a stellar speaker lineup of more than 50 speakers including government ministers, scholars and business leaders, the Forum was launched at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre where the cause of tourism economy is being championed. The Forum is deemed an encouraging success and received highly positive feedback from attendees, who were impressed by the calibre of the speakers, renowned both in China and worldwide. Taking note of the enthusiasm, Cheong U, Executive Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Government of Macao SAR, announced that the Forum is already braced for a second year of running to be held next year in the middle of September 2013. Heavyweight Speakers Line-up The Forum is honoured to have representatives from the three key tourism groups in China, namely China International Travel Service Limited, China National Travel Service (Hong Kong) Group Corporation, and CYTS Tours Holding Co., Ltd. gathered to share valuable insights towards the burgeoning tourism market in China. Other prominent speakers include: Mr. Michael Frenzel, Chairman of Executive Board, TUI AG, the largest tour operator in Europe as well as the first-ever travel joint venture established in China with foreign capital; Mr. Du Wei, President of Beijing BeiAo Group Inc. Ltd.; Mr. Min Fan, Executive Director and CEO of Ctrip.com International Ltd.; Mr. Edwin D. Fuller, Former President and Managing Director of International Lodging Division Marriott International, Inc.; Mr. Charles Petruccelli, Former President of Global Business Travel, American Express; and Mr. Liu Yi, President of Beijing Tourism Group, to name a few. Forum Conclusions and Closing Remarks At the closing ceremony in the afternoon, the boisterous sentiments are equally shared by Pansy Ho, Secretary-General of Global Tourism Economy Forum, who made the concluding remarks: "I am very glad that the Forum succinctly covered many of the key challenges ahead. Our distinguished speakers and moderators certainly gave us plenty of food for thought on designing and formulating our next generation of tourism trends. By embracing different perspectives and new ideas, the industry and related stakeholders can formulate clear approaches for development, in turn promoting the sustainable development of the global tourism industry and boosting the global economy at large." Cheong U, Executive Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Government of Macao SAR, also pointed out in his closing remarks: "Looking into the future, the tourism industry will continue to be an influential industry in the global economic development and play an important role in fostering social and economic development, international and regional cooperation, poverty alleviation and environmental protection." The Forum anticipates even more in-depth discussion of the coming year's Forum to fully disseminate the knowledge to stakeholders of the industry. Driving economic growth through tourism is recognized to be one of the most effective strategies which can be aligned with the global socioeconomic trends, and will subsequently benefit all levels of the society. With the enormous success this year, Cheong U, Executive Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Government of Macao SAR, proudly announced the Forum will be held for the second time in the middle of September 2013. Please visit www.GTE-Forum.com for more details about the Global Tourism Economy Forum.
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Macao and most Latin American countries are sharing similar traditions and historical heritage of the European civilisation. The unique cultural characteristics made Macao a desirable platform between China and Latin America. For the meaningful purpose of bringing the cultures of Latin America closer to Macao, IFT extends support to the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America (MAPEAL) and its first Latin American Cultural Festival in Macao in September. On 12 September, a series of cultural activities will kick off at IFT, in order to create a cordial atmosphere for students to get in touch directly with the food, films and books of Latin America. The Festival consists of three varied cultural activities on 12 September namely the guest lecture by Mr. David Malaga, Consul General of the Republic of Peru in Hong Kong and Macao, the Latin American Book Exhibition and the Peru Cooking Demonstration. With thousands-year-long history, the mysterious Inca culture, Coricancha and Machu Picchu castle are the desired tourism destinations. During the guest lecture, Mr. David Malaga introduces the local customs, tourism resources and culture of Peru to IFT students, and shares the experience of maintaining the archaeology, ecology, cultural traditions, sustainability and tourism development and conservation of Peru. This is a lecture not to be missed for students! Reading, without doubt, is a direct and favourable way of understanding a foreign culture besides traveling or probing into the history. It is known that Latin American literature has gained outstanding attainments and a number of authors from Latin America countries such as Peru, Columbia and Chile have even achieved The Nobel Prize in Literature. The Latin American Book Exhibition certainly gives readers a good opportunity to come into contact and have a better understanding of Latin America through the forms of expressions and written style of Latin. Gourmet dining experience can create unforgettable memories in direct and sensational way. Being the chef of Peru Stadium at World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, Ms. Maria Rosa Vasquez Chavez, the renowned chef from Peru showcases two of the national classic Peru cuisines and introduces cooking specialties and techniques of Peru cuisine, in order for students to understand the unique Peru cuisines. IFT has been attaching high importance in widening students' visions and striving to create an internationalised study environment for students. Through the globalised teaching team and student exchange programmes offered by IFT, students can experience diversified cultures of different countries at IFT campus. Besides, students can take the opportunities to study and live in overseas so as to better prepare for stepping into the tourism industry and overcome the challenges of cultural diversity in the future.
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Working Group on Food Prices conducted its specific price survey on canned foods on 6th September at 20 retail outlets, surveying the retail prices of 11 canned food brand samples. The survey reflects that the highest price difference is over 50%, whereas the lowest is below 7%. In the recent specific price survey on canned foods, the selling price of the same brand of canned food varied in different retail spots. The highest and lowest selling prices of "Narcissus Brand Spiced Pork Cubes (142g)" recorded in the recent survey were $13.00 and $19.90 respectively, with a percentage difference of around 53.08 %. While, the selling price of Tulip Pork Luncheon Meat (340g) recorded a big drop in two retail spots, resulting in a percentage difference of around 40.16% and its highest and lowest selling prices were $24.90 and 34.90 respectively. Consumers are advised to check with the survey data to make practical consumption. The specific price survey on canned foods 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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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, met today with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Mr Sha Zukang, and the Chairman of National Tourism Administration, Mr Shao Qi Wei, who are in Macao taking part in the Global Tourism Economy Forum.
The meeting took place at the Santa Sancha, where the Chief Executive expressed gratitude for his counterparts' presence at the Forum and their long-term support for Macao's development.
Mr Chui said the success of the forum depended on the support of the Central Government and other international tourism organisations. Mr Sha said tourism development not only raise the overall economy, but also enhance personnel exchanges which facilitate a better understanding about a country or region and promote peaceful development. Mr Shao Qi Wei introduced the newest tourism development of China and pledged to support Macao's development into a world leisure tourism centre.
Head of Department of Affairs on Tourism of Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan of the National Tourism Administration, Mr Liu Kezhi, , the Director of the Asia Tourism Exchange Center, Ms Xu Weifang, the Chief-of-Cabinet of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng, the the Secretary-General of the Executive Council, Ms O Lam, the Director of the Protocol, Public Relations and External Affairs Office, Mr Fung Sio Weng and the Advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Kou Chin Hung, also attended the meeting.
Mrs Sha also attended the meeting.
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Consumer Council handled almost 3,800 cases in the first half of this year.760 cases were complaints and almost 3,000 cases were inquiry, the rest of 51 cases were suggestions of consumers. Among the over 700 complaint cases, 122 cases were about telecommunication services. The number of cases regarding fees charged for various telecommunication services and arguments on contract terms has dropped by almost 30 percent comparing to 2011's figures whereas the number of cases regarding telecommunication service providers' service quality has increased. A total of 97 complaint cases for telecommunications products were received in the first half year, half of the cases received were about quality of mobile phones and after-sales services of telecommunications products, and tourists' complaints amounted to 60 percent of the complaint cases received in this category. Under this category, consumer disputes arise mainly due to the differences between the operations of local market and that in mainland China, and the definition and scope of warranty service of mobile phones in the two regions. Consumer Council suggests mobile phone retailers to give detailed explanation to consumers when they purchase mobile phones. Meanwhile, only 9 complaint cases on mobile phones have been received, which had reduced by 70 percent comparing to the previous year. The Council will continue to update its website with the latest suggested retail prices of mobile phones for inbound tourists' reference. Other categories which recorded increase in the number of cases mainly included clothing & apparel, sporting goods, as well as service charges and services of banks under the financial services category. The Council will provide adequate information to consumers by releasing researches and consumer alerts to enhance consumers' own protection on consumer rights. In the first half year of 2012, the Council also handled 2,972 inquiry cases, which had increased by 20 percent than the number of the previous year. A detailed report on the cases received by the Council is covered in the latest issue no. 228 of Consumer Report.
The current Consumer Report also features articles on Consumers International and other activities of the Council and other mainland consumer organizations.
Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the office of Consumer Council (Rua Inácio Baptista, Nº 6-6A Edficio Seaview Garden R/C), and the service counter of Consumer Council at Macao SAR Government Service Centre (Rua Nova da Areia Preta, Nº52), Public Information Centre at Vicky Plaza, libraries and bookstores. Consumers may also access the resources online on the Council's official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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24th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest staged its première fireworks display tonight, featuring the wonderful performance from the Korean and Thailand teams and attracted a great number of citizens and visitors to enjoy. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau Special Administrative Region, Cheong U, Secretary-General of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai, Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macau Special Administrative Region, Feng Tie, Director of Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region, Liu Xiao Hang and Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, João Manuel Costa Antunes attended the Opening Ceremony of Macau International Fireworks Display Contest at the Macau Tower Outdoor Plaza. 24th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest is held at the Macau Tower shorefront from today until October 1. Among the show days, October 1 is China's National Day, on which the contest will feature the fireworks teams from Italy and Mainland China. The 10 participating teams this year are (according to the latest contest order) Korea; Thailand; Taiwan, China; Australia; Portugal; France; Japan; United States; Italy and Mainland China. Each participating team is requested again this year to complement their display with music to enthrall the audience with a light and sound spectacular. To enhance the enjoyment, the organizer has installed sound systems at the Macau Tower Outdoor Plaza and its waterfront, as well as the Macau Tower Street seaside and the front square of Kun Iam Statue on Ave. Dr Sun Yat-Sen so that the public can enjoy synchronized music to the spectacular displays. Spectators can listen to live music of the fireworks displays through TDM - Radio Macau's Chinese Channel live broadcast at FM100.7. MGTO continues its cooperation with Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau S.A.R.L. (CTM) to jointly present the "Macau International Fireworks Display Contest SMS Game" again this year in order to foster citizens' participation in the event. During the contest period, CTM will send out text messages to their mobile subscribers and introduce the game, in addition to promoting the SMS game on the MGTO and CTM websites. Macau citizens can send a text message to CTM through their mobile to vote for their favorite team after each night of fireworks display. Citizens who have voted for the most popular team on that night are eligible for the lucky draw which will grant one winner with two sets of reservoir stand tickets for the 59th Macau Grand Prix (Saturday and Sunday) and souvenir. The 5 fireworks teams who get the most SMS votes will be awarded with "The People's Choice" certificates and souvenirs. Nevertheless, the audiences' voting result will not affect the jury's decision on the fireworks display contest. MGTO will also post web banners on CTM's website to enhance promotion efficiency. MGTO continues to join hand with the General Union of Neighbors Association of Macau to present the "Fireworks Carnival 2012" at the area next to Macau Tower in order to add more fun and color to the fireworks display nights. In order to enhance spectators' enjoyment of the contest and to enrich the performance elements of the fireworks, MGTO will raise the subsidy given to the participating teams for fireworks materials by 25%, i.e. up to USD25,000, starting this year, while also increasing the correspondent support for fireworks materials delivery expense. Furthermore, to celebrate the silver anniversary of Macau International Fireworks Display Contest next year, MGTO will organize the Trophy Design Contest, which will not only foster participation and a deeper sense of involvement among the public but also inspire creativity among local design talents.
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