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Macau received almost 590,000 arrivals during the Labor Day “Golden Week” holiday, a growth of 29% over the same period in 2006. Of the 590,000 visitors, over 60% were from Mainland China, recording an increase of close to 35%. Increases were also registered in both the average occupancy rate and hotel room rate. The Public Security Police Force figures show that from May 1 to May 7, visitor arrivals grew 29.04% over the same period last year to 589,936. More than 390,000, or 66% of the arrivals were from Mainland China, a growth of 34.7%. From May 1 to May 7, average occupancy rate of 3 to 5-star hotels was 83.9%, an increase of 6.27 percentage points. The average hotel room rate for 3 to 5-star hotels was MOP$893.29, a rise of 12.64% over the same period of last year. During the Labor Day “Golden Week” holiday, total room supply reached 13,258, among which, 12,695 are rooms of 2 to 5 star hotels while 563 are from guesthouses. From May 1 to May 8, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Provincial Tourism Administrations of Guangdong and Fujian have jointly operated the “Labor Day Holiday Tourism Notifying System” to facilitate operations to welcome visitors. The reopening of the checkpoint at Cotai (Lotus Bridge) in time for the Labor Day “Golden Week” holiday helped alleviate congestion at the Border Gate checkpoint as many tour groups, under the coordination of MGTO and the support of the travel trade, switched to use the Cotai checkpoint. The two public bus companies also increased capacity for the Lotus Bridge route to reduce queuing time at the checkpoint and ensure smooth service for visitors. During the Labor Day holiday, staff of MGTO has suspended leave to reinforce supervision at various tourist attractions and entry checkpoints, while MGTO’s information counters and tourist hotline operated as usual. Close collaboration among various departments and the support of tourism and related entities helped to enhance the hospitality of the city to welcome visitors.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, today reaffirmed that the MSAR Government is determined to strengthen its anti corruption efforts. Speaking at a meeting with representatives from local press associations, Mr Ho said that after the Ao Man Long’s incident, the Government was working more closely with the Commission Against Corruption in pursuit of a clean society. Ao was the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works who is detained for alleged corruption. Since judicial procedures had begun, the Government could not reveal too much information, but this had given room for rumours which affected the prestige and public image of the MSAR Government as well as that of the Chief Executive, said Mr Ho. On another issue, Mr Ho said safeguarding local workers’ right and combatting illegal labour was one of the main policies. A labour law, which would conform to the real situation of Macao and international labour legislations, would soon be submitted to the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Executive also said the government had done a lot to combat illegal labour. But due to the rapid economic development, there was a lot of construction going on and one could not be one hundred per cent certain no illegal labourers were employed. On housing and transportation, Mr Ho said the government has launched a series of policies and measures to improve the existing situation, and expected it would take five years to satisfy the needs of the society. Meanwhile, he said, enhancing transparency was one of the methods to improve policy implementation and strengthen its fight against corruption. On the amendment of Land Law and contracts for public construction, Mr Ho said transparency would be increased and managed with caution. Mr Ho said that Macao was in a transitional period of rapid development, and faced all kinds of changes and difficulties. Even so, he believed that hard-working talents could get reasonable rewards from their efforts. Mr Ho believed that successful people would emerge from this transitional period and they would become Macao’s role models in the future, who would help build a more energetic and ideal society. If Macao people could overcome the difficulties which had arisen in this transitional period, the next generation would enjoy opportunities and exciting prospects, he said.
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Representatives from five local press associations met with the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah today, during which they exchanged opinions on the latest public issues of concern to Macao residents. They are the Macao Chinese Media Workers Assocation, the Macao Journalists Club, the Macao Journalists Association, the Macao Media Club and the Associação de Imprensa em Língua Portugesa e Inglesa de Macau.
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The Government is to set up a land use advisory panel comprising mostly professionals from the private sector and several government officials: it would start operating no later than August. This was disclosed by the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, at today's plenary session of the Legislative Assembly where he answered legislators’ questions about different policies. Mr Lau also disclosed that the Government had plans to revise the land laws and land premium scheme, and would also sell by public tender a piece of land for business and residential use about the end of this year. He said this panel would advise the government on applications for land concessions, land swaps, transfer and usage change. The urban planning of the whole terrority, preservation and environmental protection would all be taken into consideration. Mr Lau said the panel would enhance transparency in land use decisions. He said that the government would start revising the existing laws and regulation on land usage after consulting the public and the Legislative Assembly. As for the revision of land use premium scheme, Mr Lau said it was expected to be completed in the middle of next month and would then go for public consultation.
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The Government would make good use of public resources to help those who are in real need of subsidised housing, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, said today. In answer to legislators' questions at today's plenary session of the Legislative Assembly, Mr Lau said a working group, which consisted of members from different departments, outlined the possible numbers and locations of sites earlier. Taking into consideration existing land resources, it would be possible for the Government to build up to 19,000 public housing units, an estimation made by the working group. He said the Government's plans to gradually build 8,000 units by the end of 2009, and the rest within five years. The number of units to be built would be in line with the social environment. Meanwhile, he noted that the Housing Bureau was revising the regulations on public housing, in particular the criteria for eligibility of applicants, in order to better utilise public resources. He said that special consideration would be given to the elderly in the public housing policy.
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Macau Government Tourist Office is exhibiting for the first time at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the main tourism fair in the Middle East, which closed today in Dubai. “With this participation at the ATM, Macau had its first exposure in the Middle East, a market with huge potential which we are still exploring”, points out Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) deputy director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, head of the delegation to the event. The MGTO deputy director introduced the latest developments of the SAR’s tourism industry at a press conference about Macau that took place Tuesday at the fair. On Macau’s first appearance at the ATM, which opened doors on the first of May, the city is represented with a stand decorated with the colors and promotion theme for this year, “Experience Macau”. Joining the Macau stand at ATM are also representatives from Venetian Macau Limited and Galaxy Entertainment Group. The Middle East, a market whose visitor arrivals to Macau have seen double-digit growths in the last few years, is defined by MGTO as one of the new markets to explore this year.
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Police had taken appropriate measures to maintain public order during a demonstration yesterday, the Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va, said today. Speaking to the press after attending an event, Mr Cheong praised the police forces' efforts in maintaining social stability during the demonstration, saying that they were tolerant, and had taken appropriate measures to control the situation. He said the reason a police officer had fired several warning shots into the air was to prevent demonstrators from trampling on each other, as some people in front of the crowd had started to fall. The authorities were conducting an investigation into how a man, who was 300 metres away from the scene, was injured by what appeared to have been a stray bullet, Mr Cheong said.
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The Macao SAR Government had denounced the violation of law during a demonstration today and said it believed that the police had taken appropriate measures to handle the situation to maintain social order. In a statement released in the evening, the SAR Government reaffirmed that the rights to express opinions through demonstrations and other lawful means were respected, and calls would be answered proactively. Demonstrations should be carried out in a lawful manner and pose no threats to normal social and economic activities, and to other people's lawful rights, the statement stated. The SAR Government stressed its determination to maintain the rule of law and social order, which was the basis of Macao's developments, and said any attempt to disrupt Macao's stable development would not be tolerated.
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The SAR Government is highly concerned with workers' appeals, and with the co-ordination and support from employers and employees, would strengthen labour related policy, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Speaking at a reception to celebrate the May 1 International Labour Day, Mr Ho said the Government would speed up the process of revising labour legislations, combat illegal labour, broaden the scope of the society security fund network, and promote and implement provident fund schemes in order to look after employees' benefits. He said harmony is one of the essential elements for the development of a society. Harmony, which is built on trust, forgiveness and unity, is also the key to Macao's substainable development. The Government would listen public opinion carefully and study them with caution. Recently, policies related with people' s living quality have been enhanced to balance the economic and social development, said Mr Ho. The Chief Executive also encouraged people from different sectors to strengthen their competitiveness in order to face the various challenges.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that, in the first quarter of 2007, the overall average daily nominal wage of construction workers was MOP533, of which the average wage of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers was MOP556 and unskilled workers MOP349. Among the various occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the average daily nominal wage of plant operators was the highest, reaching MOP621. The overall nominal wage index increased 3.8% from the previous quarter. The nominal wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 3.3%, and that of unskilled workers was up 7.1%. In terms of occupation of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the nominal wage index of plant operators rose the most, up 15.6%, followed by concreters and drain layers and painters, up 14.1% and 12.0% respectively, whereas that of iron workers registered the largest decline, down 5.9%. In addition, the overall real wage index increased 2.5% over the preceding quarter. The real wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 2.1%, and that of unskilled workers went up 5.7%. Compared with the first quarter of 2006, the overall real wage index increased 7.4%, of which the index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 7.6%, and that of unskilled workers went up 5.9%.
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