News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that per-capita spending of visitors increased by 9% year-on-year to MOP 1,783 in the first quarter of 2010. Analyzed by place of residence, per-capita spending of Mainland visitors took the lead, at MOP 2,826; per-capita spending of those from Southeast Asia; Hong Kong; and Taiwan, China amounted to MOP 1,727, MOP 1,135 and MOP 1,056 respectively. Compared with the first quarter of 2009, per-capita spending of tourists rose by 24% to MOP 2,880 and that of same-day visitors went up by 43% to MOP 703. In the first quarter of 2010, per-capita non-shopping spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors decreased by 9% year-on-year to MOP 897, of which expenses on Accommodation and Food & Beverage accounted for 44% and 35% respectively. Meanwhile, per-capita shopping spending grew by 35% to MOP 886, with expenses mainly on Jewellery/watches (21%), Local Food Products (21%) and Clothing (19%). Per-diem spending of visitors amounted to MOP 1,783 in the first quarter of 2010, a year-on-year increase of 16%. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending of MOP 2,652 and the respective spending of visitors from Southeast Asia; Hong Kong and Taiwan, China was MOP 1,559, MOP 1,135 and MOP 1,056. The average length of stay of visitors shortened by 0.1 day to 1.0 day over the first quarter of 2009, with Mainland visitors staying an average of 1.1 day. The average length of stay of tourists increased by 0.1 day to 1.7 days, while that of same-day visitors stayed unchanged at 0.2 day.
…

Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On today made a courtesy visit on his Hong Kong counterpart, Mr Donald Tsang Yam-kuen. During the meeting at Government House, Mr Chui thanked Mr Tsang for Hong Kong’s continued support and said the co-operation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao was crucial to the implementation of the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta (2008-2020) and the development of Hengqin Island. On tourism, Mr Chui said the parties could work closer on promoting the three places as a multi-destination itinerary for visitors. Mr Tsang said Hong Kong and Macao had strong ties and enhanced co-operation in different areas all along. He said the two cities would work even more closely together on preventing epidemics and other emergencies. Mr Tsang hosted a lunch for Mr Chui and his team of officials before they returned to Macao. They comprised Secretary for Economy and Finance Mr Tam Pak Yuen, Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Chief Executive Mr Tam Chon Weng; Secretary-General of Executive Council and Advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive Ms O Lam; Director of the Government Information Bureau Mr Chan Chi Ping, Advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive Mr Kou Chin Hung, and the Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Ms Tam Ka Wa. Hong Kong officials who attended today’s meeting included the Financial Secretary Mr John Tsang Chun-wah, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Mr Stephen Lam Sui-lung, and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Mr Raymond Tam Chi-yuen.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 12 institutions of higher education in the 2008/2009 academic year; meanwhile a total of 109 schools offering pre-primary, primary and secondary (including vocational-technical) education, 76 are within the free education system; moreover, there were 9 schools offering special education. At the end of the 2008/2009 academic year, there were 20,917 students attending higher education, up by 11.6% over the previous academic year, with local students accounting for 69.2%. Meanwhile, pre-primary, primary and secondary education had 76,214 students, with those of primary (27,481) and secondary (39,463) decreased by 8.4% and 4.0% respectively, while pre-primary students (9,270) rose by 1.3%. In addition, there were 482 students attending special education, up slightly by 0.4%. Total number of teachers engaging in higher education was 1,812; those teaching in pre-primary, primary and secondary education totalled 4,847 while 108 were in special education. Teacher/student ratio for higher education was 1 to 11.5; the ratio for pre-primary, primary and secondary education was 1 to 15.7 and that for special education was 1 to 4.5. The Education Survey for the 2008/2009 academic year also covered 12 schools providing recurrent education, 137 establishments providing adult education and 152 private tutorial centres. Number of students attending recurrent education increased by 6.3% to 2,880; course enrolment of adult education totalled 129,146, down by 1.0% year-on-year. Meanwhile, a total of 5,067 students were receiving auxiliary tutorial services at 152 private tutorial centres, with 70.8% being primary students and 15.5% being secondary students. As regards the 2009/2010 academic year, a total of 33,007 students enrolled in higher education and 73,782 students in pre-primary, primary and secondary education.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 7.7% year-on-year to 510,679 in March 2010. Visitors from Mainland China (355,300) and Taiwan, China (25,225) dropped by 18.8% and 5.9% respectively, while those from Japan (27,581) and Hong Kong (21,196) rose by 55.9% and 6.3% respectively. Moreover, visitors from the Republic of Korea (14,173), India (6,530) and Vietnam (5,924) also registered notable increase. In the first quarter of 2010, visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 4.6% year-on-year to 1,433,956. In March 2010, the number of Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours increased by 8.8% year-on-year to 18,494, with Mainland China (77.4% of total), Japan (6.7%) and Hong Kong (4.4%) being the most popular tour itineraries. In the first quarter of 2010, Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 51,534, up by 8.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased by 9.0% year-on-year to 34,791; the main destinations were Hong Kong (31.5% of total), Mainland China (29.1%) and Taiwan, China (18.9%). Outbound residents travelling under such arrangements rose by 12.9% year-on-year to 100,737 in the first quarter of 2010. At the end of March 2010, total number of available guest rooms of the hotel sector increased by 1,831 (+10.4%) year-on-year to 19,408 rooms. A total of 641,987 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in March 2010, up by 7.6% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (52.0% of total) and Hong Kong (20.4%). The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses increased by 4.9 percentage points year-on-year to 77.5% and that of hotels reached 78.2%, with 4-star hotels leading at 84.6%. The average length of stay of guests increased by 0.1 night to 1.5 nights. The cumulative number of guests reached 1,885,263 in the first quarter of 2010, up by 15.2% over the same period of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 60.7% of the total number of tourists, down from 61.9% in the same period of 2009.
…

Macau Government Tourist Office Deputy Director Manuel Pires and Head of Research and Planning Department Cheng Wai Tong participated in the 22nd Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia held in Hanoi, Vietnam. Hundreds of participants from over 20 countries/regions in Asia and the Pacific took part in the 22nd Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia jointly organized by UNWTO and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, held May 10 to 12. Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam Hoang Tuan Anh and Secretary-General of UNWTO Taleb Rifai delivered welcome speeches at the opening ceremony. Taleb Rifai introduced the recent situation of world tourism, the work and financial status of UNWTO and emphasized the activities held in the Asia Pacific region as well as the restructure of the UNWTO secretariat. He hoped that with the restructure of the secretariat, the connection among member countries and regions would be strengthened while allowing for more prompt and flexible responses to changes in the tourism industry. Besides the general commission discussions, the joint meeting this year added a roundtable discussion and tourism conference. The roundtable discussion offered a platform for participants to share their views on the tourism performance of the Asia-Pacific region in 2009 and prospects for 2010, with a focus on the recovery of countries’ national economies and tourism industries as well as contemporary issues of interest about international tourism in general. Manuel Pires presented the tourism performance of Macau SAR in 2009 and prospects for 2010 at the roundtable discussion, highlighting the "Plan to Support Macau Tourism Industry", a series of measures launched by the Macau SAR Government to stimulate leisure tourism, business tourism and the aviation industry as a way to maintain Macau’s momentum and competitive edge as an international destination. Themed as “Tourism as a Key Driver for Socio-economic Development in Asia and the Pacific”, the tourism conference comprised two sessions namely “Tourism as an Economic Powerhouse and its Contribution to the Local Economy” and “The Positive Social Contribution of Responsible Tourism”. The meeting also arranged a technical tour to the World Heritage, Ha Long Bay for the participants.
…

The Institute For Tourism Studies, Macao will host the “Macau Slow Food 2010 – Food Heritage of the Macanese” on 14 May. The event is organized by the Tourism Event Management and Heritage Management Year 2 Students and supported by the IFT Student Union. The objective of the event is to promote the philosophy of Slow Food culture, as well as the food heritage in Macao. Date: 14 May, Friday
Time: 1130
Venue: Amphitheatre, Team Building, IFT More information about the event can be found on the attached leaflet. Institute For Tourism Studies
…

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) organized for the first time a Macau destination presentation in the Middle East to promote the tourism of the city among travel operators and media in the region, aiming to attract more visitors from this part of the world, stimulating the diversification of the source of visitors to Macau. MGTO has been striving to explore opportunities to expand the tourism market from the Middle East, a market with huge potential. Macau is participating for the forth consecutive year at the most important tourism fair in the region, the Arabian Travel Market, held in Dubai from 4 to 7 of May, and this year, for the first time, on the eve of the event, MGTO hosted a Macau destination presentation. During the presentation, MGTO’s Market Division chief Betty Fok introduced to dozens of Middle East travel trade and media, the Macau World Heritage, its leisure tourism products, infrastructures for business tourism and entertainment, among others, presenting Macau tourism situation and helping to expand the market in this part of the world. On its 17th edition, ATM was held the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Macau booth at the event was dedicated to the theme “Experience Macau”, and the five senses, “See, Taste, Feel, Hear, Touch”, showcasing the unique difference of Macau. The number of visitors from the Middle East to Macau more than tripled from 2,000 in 2004 to 7,700 in 2009, revealing that Macau is an increasing popular destination among Middle East visitors. On the first quarter of the year, the number of visitors from the Middle East increased by 21.88 percent compared to the same period last year. ATM is the leading travel and tourism exhibition in the Arabic world and the Middle East. According to organizers, the event attracted last year 2,180 exhibitors, 15,000 visitors and 1000 media representatives.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the population of Macao was estimated at 542,400 as at 31 March 2010, similar to 542,200 at end-2009. In the first quarter of 2010, there were 1,191 live births, down by 13.9% quarter-to-quarter. Gender ratio of the newborn was 103.2, with 605 male babies. Number of mortality cases totalled 459 and the major underlying causes of death were Neoplasms and Diseases of the Circulatory System. Meanwhile, 4 cases of fetal mortality were recorded. There were 1,106 cases of Notifiable diseases reported in this quarter, consisting mainly of Influenza (276 cases), Enterovirus Infection (255 cases) and Acute Norovirus gastroenteropathy (143 cases). In addition, 867 cases of marriage registration were recorded, up by 3.1% over the fourth quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, there were 758 Chinese immigrants moving to Macao with One-way Exit Permit, a decrease of 22 quarter-to-quarter; meanwhile, 250 illegal immigrants were repatriated. Moreover, a total of 1,948 individuals were authorized to reside in Macao, down by 1,018 quarter-to-quarter. Total number of non-resident workers stood at 72,843 at the end of the first quarter, down by 2,062 quarter-to-quarter.
…

The Offshore Group of Insurance Supervisors will hold its 17th Annual Working Meeting in Macau from the 10th to the 13th of May 2010 under the auspices of the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM). There will be 15 overseas delegates from offshore insurance regulatory authorities attending this meeting from the following jurisdictions: Bahamas; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands: Curacao; Gibraltar; Guernsey; Isle of Man; Jersey and Samoa. According to the agenda of the meeting, the main focus on the first day will be on discussions relating to “Achieving Solvency II Equivalence”. On the second day, reports from various jurisdictions will be reviewed, including the reports from the Education Committee and from the Committee set up to deal with various projects of the OGIS. On the final day, the Group will debate on the recent developments of the IAIS (International Association of Insurance Supervisors), including other international issues in the area of insurance. The meeting will take place at the World Trade Center, “Macau Room” – 17th Floor, on the 10th, 11th and 12th of May starting at 09:00 a.m. The Opening Ceremony will be presided by the Chairman of the AMCM, Mr. Anselmo Teng.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 694 new companies were incorporated in the first quarter of 2010, up by 26.9% year-on-year; the total value of registered capital surged by 99.2% to MOP88 million. Among these new companies, 251 were operating in Wholesale and Retail, with the registered capital amounting to MOP25 million; meanwhile, 133 were operating in Business Services and 97 in Construction. Furthermore, 444 new companies (64.0% of total) were incorporated with registered capital under MOP50,000 and the value of capital (MOP12 million) made up merely 13.2% of the total. Meanwhile, there were 13 new companies incorporated with registered capital of MOP1,000,000 or over, and the value of capital (MOP47 million) accounted for 53.6% of the total. In addition, more than 80% of the new incorporations were limited companies. Capital of the new companies came mainly from Macao (MOP66 million), Mainland China (MOP7 million) and Hong Kong (MOP4 million). Capital from Guangdong Province (MOP4 million) took the lead among the Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces. Analyzed by place of residence of the shareholders, 457 new companies were established solely by Macao shareholders, 84 were joint ventures between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions. In the first quarter of 2010, number of companies in dissolution totalled 128 and the value of registered capital amounted to MOP21 million, of which the registered capital of 39 Wholesale and Retail companies in dissolution accounted for 31.1%.
…