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Officials from the civil aviation sector from China, Hong Kong and Macao have mapped out long-term schemes to manage the rapidly-growth of air traffic in the Pearl River Delta leading to 2020. They met in Macao on 20-21 July, during which a string of measurements on solving air traffic congestion within the Delta had been reached. These measures will be adopted soon. The also agreed to start a study on sustainable development of air traffic within the Delta by means of unique standard and procedure. Moreover, a technical group would be set up to standardise ways to exchange information, to further facilitate management in air traffic. Officials from the aviation sector have been meeting regularly since the industry within the Delta has been developing prosperously. The first of such meeting was held in 2004 in Dalian, China.
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Information from Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI for June 2006 was 108.62, up by 0.43% over May. The increment was caused by the increase in the price indices of Food & non-alcoholic beverages and Transport; however, the impacts were offset by the decrease in the price index of Communication. Compared with May 2006, the indices of Food & non-alcoholic beverages; Transport; and Recreation & culture rose by 1.65%, 0.99% and 0.52% respectively. The increments were driven by dearer prices of vegetables after heavy rain and typhoon, rising gasoline prices on account of surging international oil prices and the ascending charges for outbound package tours near the Summer holiday period. On the other hand, discount changes for international long-distance call (IDD) and lower LP gas prices led to decrease in the indices of Communication (-3.12%) and Housing & fuels (-0.13%) . The Composite CPI for June 2006 registered a year-on-year increase of 5.71%. Average Composite CPI for the first half year went up by 5.80% compared with the same period of 2005. For the 12 months ended June 2006, the average Composite CPI increased by 5.54% over the previous period. Composite CPI for the second quarter of 2006 rose by 6.11% over the same quarter of last year, with notable increase in the indices of Housing & fuels (+13.71%) and Education (+9.31%). In addition, the CPI-A and CPI-B for June 2006 were 109.66 and 108.32, up by 0.51% and 0.37% respectively compared with May. Starting from January 2006, the CPI has been rebased to July 2004 to June 2005. The Composite CPI reflects the impacts of price changes for the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 49% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP 3,000 to MOP 9,999; the CPI-B relates to about 31% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP 10,000 to MOP 19,999.
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Free kindergarten education will be extended from the present one year to three, taking effect as early as the coming school year in September, spokesperson for the Executive Council, Mr Tong Chi Kin announced today. After meeting with the members of Executive Council, Mr Tong told the press that a legal draft of non-tertiary education system had been discussed and would soon be passed to the Assembly for further discussion. He said the extension of the free education for the third pre-school year could be extended to include the first and second years within two months. And he also disclosed that the free education system would be extended to senior high school levels progressively. According to the proposed scheme, education is categorised into two types: regular education and continuous education. Regular education comprises three-year programme for pre-school, six-year programme for primary education, three-year for junior high school education and three-year programme for senior high school education. Under the current non-tertiary education system, senior high school education may be either two or three years. Continuous education includes vocational training, Back-to-School Programme, education from family and community. The draft also stipulated that residents aged from five to 15 must be in school. Meanwhile, the draft also made clearer definitions of free education: free tuition and other related expenses such as enrollment fees and certificates, etc.
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Information from Statistics and Census Service indicated that Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the second quarter of 2006 was 120.04, up by 4.15% over the previous quarter. Higher prices in jewellery on account of rising gold prices pushed the index of Miscellaneous goods to grow by 11.23%. Indices of Clothing & footwear and Accommodation rose by 6.65% and 5.86% respectively, which were attributable to new arrivals of Summer clothing, as well as the increasing charges of hotel accommodation during Easter holidays and Labour Day “Golden Week”. On the other hand, Entertainment & culture was the only section that recorded a decrease (-0.83%) in the index, as a result of lower charges in the night clubs. Compared with the second quarter of 2005, TPI rose by 11.27%, with notable increase in the indices of Miscellaneous goods (+29.08%), Accommodation (+27.75%), and Clothing & footwear (+6.23%). The average TPI for the 4 quarters ended in the 2nd quarter of 2006 rose by 5.08% over the previous period. In the first half of 2006, TPI increased by 7.89% over the same period of 2005. TPI is an indicator that reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled based on the consumption pattern of visitors derived from the Visitor Expenditure Survey. TPI covers 8 sections of goods and services, namely Food, alcoholic drinks & tobacco; Clothing & footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant service; Transport & communications; Medicine & personal goods; Entertainment & culture; and Miscellaneous goods. The base year of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.
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Stephen Henderson, a well-known freelance journalist from New York City of the United States arrived for his two-day visit to Macau on July 11. Focused on presenting different aspects of tourism destinations, he writes on travel, food, visual style of the place, architectures and how people live. When preparing himself to visit Hong Kong, a Portuguese friend of his highly recommended Macau to him. Since then, he made efforts to carry out a historic research on the former fishing village. Not knowing what exactly to expect, he got the idea that Macau is a place for relaxation and took his first step into this intensely interesting place. He was amazed and surprised by the sophisticated Macau. Soon enough as he went through the old Macau, especially the “Historic Centre of Macau”, he enjoyed the harmonious co-existence of the old and the new. Having a glimpse of both, he cited: “Macau is Night and Day”. Daytime would be for travelers who loved to see the old Macau and others would enjoy the nighttime with modern facilities and entertainment. During his stay, Henderson was enchanted by the architectural style of StarWorld, the atmosphere of the Red Market, the vibrant and living “Historic Centre of Macau”. As a good cook, he took the chance to make the “African Chicken” dish at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and learned more about Chinese cuisine and the Macanese culture. Top three of Henderson’s choices of Macau are antiques, A-Ma Temple and the Macau Museum. Last year, over 120 thousand visitors to Macau were from the United States, recording a growth of 28%. With the belief that Americans would be attracted by the cultural heritage of Macau, Henderson expressed that previously Americans loved to visit Vietnam, but now, they have great affection for China and India. Even though it was a two-day trip for Henderson, he said that Macau gave him a journey “very full of experience and was excited.” When he returns to the U.S., he will be writing stories for New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun to give readers a taste of how Hong Kong and Macau is like. With the thought that he would be back for a longer stay in Macau next time, he hopes to use his fun-filled experience to attract more Americans to the region.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 237,461 in May 2006, up 12.3% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (193,436) grew 23.3%; however, those from Taiwan, China (14,288) and Hong Kong (6,220) decreased 38.0% and 28.6% respectively over May 2005. In the first five months of 2006, visitor arrivals in package tours surged 21.8% over the same period of 2005 to 1,245,285. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours was 19,868 in May 2006, a year-on-year decrease of 19.1%. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 77.5%, 6.1% and 5.3% of the total respectively. In the first five months of 2006, Macao residents (108,875) travelling in package tours grew 10.9% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 26,403 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by the travel agencies, an increase of 6.6% over May 2005; Mainland China (40.2%), Hong Kong (19.6%) and Taiwan, China (16.5%) were the major destinations. In the first five months of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements surged 28.9% to 143,410 compared with the corresponding period of 2005. At the end of May 2006, number of guest rooms available in the hotel industry increased by 871 (+8.3%) over May 2005 to 11,325 rooms. In addition, a total of 343,016 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, up 4.2% compared with May 2005. The average hotel occupancy rate was 65.4%, representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points; the highest average was in the 3-star hotels, at 73.6%. The hotel guests stayed an average of 1.15 nights, which fell slightly by 0.03 night compared with May 2005. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (58.5%), Hong Kong (22.3%) and Taiwan, China (2.9%). In the first five months of 2006, number of hotel guests increased 15.4% over 2005 to 1,812,098. In the first five months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 40.5% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 41.6% recorded in the same period of 2005.
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The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) participates at the China International Business & Incentive Travel Mart 2006 (CBITM2006) in Beijing to exchange ideas with mainland and overseas tourism industry circles and promote the business tourism industry of Macau. CIBTM2006 is being held in Beijing between July 11 and 13. Representatives of MGTO’s Product Development and Special Projects Department and the Macau Business Tourism Centre, together with representatives from local hotels and resorts, ferry company, public relations companies, convention and exhibition industry and trade exhibition associations attended the event. MGTO expressed that the characteristics of the business tourism market is high rank, high quality, longer length of stay with high consumption power and these will be beneficial to the economy of the destination. The Macau SAR Government has been actively driving the development of the business tourism industry in Macau, and CIBTM2006 will act as an effective platform to help introduce the Macau business tourism industry to Mainland China and subsequently, to the world. MGTO indicated that the unique historical background of the mix of eastern and western cultures is an advantage for Macau. At the same time, the upcoming large-scale infrastructure, tourism facilities and hotels, will boost both leisure tourism and business tourism in Macau. Through the participation in CIBTM2006, MGTO wishes to promote Macau as an ideal business tourism destination to both mainland and overseas exhibitors and buyers. Held at the Exhibition Hall of the China World Trade Centre in Beijing, MGTO’s booth at CIBTM2006 is themed to introduce “Macau World Heritage Year”. During the event, MGTO will introduce the current tourism situation of Macau and provide relevant convention and exhibition information to stakeholders from the mainland and overseas. CIBTM2006, the only high level exhibition in China targeting the business and MICE travel segments aims to provide an effective communications platform on which exhibitors and buyers can network, conduct business and promote their brands. With an exhibition area of 4,300 sq. metres, CIBTM2006 attracted 170 exhibitors worldwide and the organizer forecasted the 3-day exhibition to gather 2,500 stakeholders and visitors apart from participants at seminars and product presentations. A record of 170 exhibitors from 25 countries/regions attended the event last year. Over 2,400 stakeholders and visitors attended the exhibition while 700 people joined the seminars in this field.
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The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has appointed well experienced congress industry manager and consultant Gary Grimmer as adviser for the development of business tourism in Macau. Gary Grimmer, an Australian, is the Chief Executive Officer of his own management and consulting firm, Gary Grimmer & Company, which he founded after accumulating impressive credentials including being CEO for the Convention & Visitors Bureaux in Melbourne (Australia) and Portland (USA). He is also the Chairman of ConventionWorks, a global network of companies that consult on the congress industry with offices around the world. MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes said Gary Grimmer will make a valued contribution in the course of putting Macau on the world’s business tourism map. “Having in mind all his experience, know-how and contacts, the local business tourism industry will be able to benefit from the assistance of an international consultant of the level of Mr. Gary Grimmer, which presents all the credentials in the area of business tourism and knows very well both the international and Asian markets”, pointed out MGTO’s Director. For the international business tourism consultant based in Melbourne, it is a “privilege” to be involved in the process of transforming Macau into a strong destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). “Macau is unarguably the biggest story at the moment in Asia, in terms of all the development that is going on. It’s really undergoing a renaissance. I think the opportunity to be participating in the effort to develop the MICE industry in Macau is a really exciting opportunity”, he added, during a current visit to Macau for site inspections. The new Macau business tourism adviser also conducts education programs for the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), the major international organization for the congress industry. In this role, he visited Macau a few times, the last being in April. Until the end of the year, Gary Grimmer will have the mission of advising MGTO on the elaboration of a strategy to develop Macau as new business tourism destination. Macau is currently undergoing enormous hotel and convention infrastructure development. MGTO has shown its commitment to nurturing a larger business events industry in Macau by opening the Macau Business Tourism Centre earlier this April, which will work as a facilitator in efforts to develop the MICE industry in Macau.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government presents the 20th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) from 6 October to 5 November 2006. The 20th anniversary of the MIMF is celebrated with a touch of romanticism. Jazz, classical, electronica, Chinese folk-pop, rock and fado will fill Macao's autumn nights with magic. The eclectic programme of 28 performances promises to delight Macao audiences, accustomed to the festival's annual offering of the best music from all over the world. Two decades of history have made the MIMF a tradition throughout Asia. Such noble Macao venues as the Dom Pedro V Theatre and the Lou Lim Ieoc Garden have received many indelible names in the arts. In 1989 Alfredo Kraus and Jennifer Smith, and in 1990 Christa Ludwig and Teresa Berganza put Macao on the bel canto map. Sándor Végh and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie gave an unforgettable performance in Taipa the following year, and more recently, the great Chinese composer Tan Dun left his mark on the St. Paul's Ruins. Among the notable Portuguese artists, names like Carlos Paredes, Sequeira Costa, Maria João and Mário Laginha, and the Gulbenkian Chorus, Orchestra and Ballet shine brightly. With such a rich tradition, the 20th MIMF can't help but open with an extra dose of the romantic. The Chinese prodigy Lang Lang blows out the first of twenty candles from the piano bench at the Macao Cultural Centre, playing concertos by the melodic Chopin and the extravagant Tchaikovsky. The Macao Orchestra joins the festivities under the leadership of two of the region's most important conductors, Pang Ka Pang and En Shao. The lyric expression continues on the same stage with an ambitious concert by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne on 7 October, marking the return of large ensembles to the MIMF stage. Amid the magical ambience of the Mount Fortress venue, the popular French pianist Richard Clayderman charms the public with his romantic classics and later courts the ladies of Feng Huang, who return his affection with Chinese tradition. Following the tryst between Europe and China in the nostalgic Mount Fortress, one of this year's preferred venues, New York's Shanghai Quartet diversifies the exchange with a universal encounter between the music of East and West. The performance will warm another of Macao's historical settings, the Dom Pedro V Theatre (10 October), the very same stage to which the legendary voice of Carlos do Carmo returns to echo the fado tradition. For two incredible nights the singer who knows better than anyone how to rekindle the Portuguese spirit will light the fuse of saudade in the hearts of Macao's multicultural audience. The best of fado and Portuguese rock This year the Cultural Affairs Bureau invested in great names in Portuguese music, and rock band Xutos e Pontapés complete the deal. Last year they celebrated their silver anniversary with O Mundo ao Contrário (The World Upside-Down) and they ring in another year with a voyage to Macao. New and old favourites celebrate the return of the legendary Portuguese band on 27 October. Before Xutos e Pontapés present their Circo de Feras (Circus of Beasts) at Nam Van Lake, opera elevates the tone of the festival to its most romantic. For three nights in the Cultural Centre (13, 14 and 15 October) two tales of love-triangles full of intrigue are told in song. Mascagani’s Cavalleria Rusticana is the keystone of the verismo style, and Rugero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci is its twin companion on stage, filled with the same Italian passion. Musica Antiqua Cologne (16 October) lights up the Dom Pedro V Theatre with their genuine interpretation of Baroque music. The electronics of Sakamoto in pure form The more modern sounds of electronica are added to the classics of the MIMF. It is with the music of Insen that Ryuichi Sakamoto makes his Macao debut on 18 October. He is joined by another musical scientist, the young German Alva Noto, and they fill the Mount Fortress with the celestial sounds of their lounge laboratory. Seven soloists, three orchestras and four choirs will make Nam Van Lake overflow with joy on 20 October. Musicians from Macau, the Mainland and Taiwan will shake the entire city with the grandeur of Gustav Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand", written near the turn of the last century. The Macao Chinese Orchestra holds Hong Kong's Canto pop star Paula Tsui in its arms for three nights at the Cultural Centre (22, 23 and 24 October), in a concert that guarantees a heady dose of Chinese nostalgia. The Orchestra sends five of their best musicians back to the stage on 19 October. The curtains of the MIMF open on the festive Divertimento Berlin as well, whose musicians hail from the renowned Berlin Philharmonic and Berlin Opera orchestras. Not excluded from the celebration are the Batavia Madrigal Singers, from Indonesia, who perform alone on 24 October and later join forces with the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa to honour another celebration, the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-2006). A happy ending with Guys and Dolls Jazz enters among the ranks of the MIMF genres with the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, liberating that intense creative fervour so often consigned to the privacy of the musician's studio. This musical intimacy is shared on 26 October at the Mount Fortress, which two days later will host four Chinese bands who revive their regional traditions in the pop and rock idioms of today. Chamber music ventures away from the classics of the MIMF in the concert of the Vienna Symphony Virtuosi (30 October). The Austrian ensemble offers the poetry of Johann Strauss, Mozart and Hummel on the Dom Pedro V Theatre stage, only to charm audiences in the second half with the jazz smooth talk of Cole Porter and Claude Bolling.
The MIMF closes with one of the greatest of all Broadway musicals. The 1950 production Guys and Dolls will draw the final burst of applause in two decades of festival tradition. The story of Miss Sarah Brown and the gambler Sky Masterson finds an ideal setting in Macao, providing a very happy ending to the celebrations of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
Workshops and conferences on the events will be held to promote public interest and participation in the arts. As in previous years’ festivals, rehearsals for some shows will be open to the public.
Tickets for the 20th Macao International Music Festival will be available after 10am on 23 July 2006 at all Kong Seng Ticketing outlets. Online and telephone reservations will be available from 4pm on the same day. A variety of discount plans is offered. Detailed publicity materials are available at the ticket counters.
For more information please visit the website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at:www.icm.gov.mo
E-mail: fimm@icm.gov.mo
Information: (853) 555 555 Macao (852) 2380 5083 Hong Kong (86) 139 269 11111 Pearl River Delta Region Online Reservations: www.macauticket.net Hotline: (853) 399 6699 / 399 6666 The 20th Macao International Music Festival has the kind support of the Macao Government Tourist Office.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) launched a 4-day “The Historic Centre of Macau & Macau 24-hour Photo Exhibition” in Hong Kong today. MGTO Deputy Director, Ms. Helena Fernandes, led the MGTO delegation to attend the opening ceremony, where she was joined by Ms. Wang Miao, the editor-in-chief of China Tourism Press, for the ribbon-cutting. The ceremony was highlighted by a Portuguese cultural performance, attracting a substantial number of audience. The exhibition held at the International Financial Centre (IFC) mall, features photos of the Historic Centre of Macau, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2005. Concurrently, a number of Macau photos taken by a selective group of professional photographers from the Mainland, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also displayed at the venue, showcasing Macau’s beauty and cultural richness. At the venue of the exhibition, Macau travel information and souvenirs are distributed to the audience as a means to promote Macau tourism with the main travel season approaching. Through the exhibition, MGTO aims to reveal Macau’s elegance and uniqueness to both Hong Kong people and visitors. With an aspiration to strengthen the global promotion of Macau tourism, IFC was purposely selected to be the venue, as it is regarded as an international financial hub situated at the commercial centre of HK. “The Historic Centre of Macau & Macau 24-hour Photo Exhibition” is held from 6th to 9th July at the Oval Atrium of IFC mall. Opening hours are from 10:00 to 20:00. Four sessions of Portuguese cultural performance are scheduled on 7th & 8th July at 13:30 and 18:00 respectively. MGTO has designated 2006 as “Macau World Heritage Year”, and will be promoting Macau tourism with the theme “Macau a world of difference, the difference is Macau”. Coupled with the development of new hotels and large-scale tourism projects, Macau has become one of the key destinations in the Asia Pacific region.
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