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A Macao SAR delegation has returned from a visit to Beijing and achieved fruitful results for mutual co-operations in water resources management, environmental protection and science technology. The delegation, led by the Secretary of Transport and Public Works, Mr Ao Man Long, left for Beijing on 25 April. During the three-day visit, the MSAR and the mainland’s Ministry of Water Resources signed protocol to enhance water resources management in the Pearl River Delta. The Macao side also expressed gratitude for the emergency water diversion to the Pearl River Delta conducted earlier this year. Guangdong Province and Macao were seeking a mutually beneficial proposal for the guarantee of water resources and a stable supply of water to Macao, Mr Ao said. On environmental protection, Macao and the State Environmental Protection Administration have agreed to enhance co-operation based on past experience. With a background of close relationships with the European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao was willing to act as a platform for environmental products for mainland and foreign countries with advanced environmental technologies, Mr Ao said. The Macao delegation also visited the Ministry of Science and Technology. Mr Ao also updated his counterparts on the latest science and technology development in Macao. The two parties also exchanged views on the co-operative framework. In the meeting with Ministry of Construction, both sides have agreed to step up contacts and communication, and also exchanged opinions on traffic, construction and management of polluted water. Members of the delegation included the Director of the Office of the Secretary, the Director of Port Authority, the Deputy Director of Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, the Deputy Director of Housing Bureau, the acting President of the Environmental Protection Committee, and the Secretary of the Science and Technology Committee.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by the Statistics and Census Service, unemployment rate for January - March 2005 was held stable at 4.1% compared with December 2004 - February 2005, but decreased by 1.4 percentage points over the same period of 2004. The underemployment rate was 1.1%, down 0.1 and 1.2 percentage points over December 2004 - February 2005 and the same period of 2004 respectively. The number of the unemployed searching for the first job was about 900, or 8.8% of the total unemployed. This represented a decrease of 1.5 percentage points over December 2004 - February 2005. Compared with December 2004 - February 2005, unemployment situation continued to improve in Wholesale & retail trade and Restaurants & similar activities, while it worsened in Real estate, renting & business activities and Construction. Total labour force was estimated at 240 000 in January - March 2005; the employed and the unemployed populations were 230 000 and 9 900 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 62.5%, up 0.1 and 0.9 percentage point over December 2004 - February 2005 and the same period of 2004 respectively. According to the administrative information provided by Public Security Police, number of non-resident workers with working permits totalled 28 648 at the end of March 2005, an increase of 3.3% over December 2004. Please refer to the attached table for detailed information on non-resident workers by industry.
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(Macao – 25 April 2005) Secretary for Public Administration and Justice , Ms Florinda Chan, today chaired the first meeting of the Consultative Council for Legal Reform, for which she is president. All members of the Council attended the meeting and a number of topics were discussed. These included the internal regulations of the Consulative Council; rights and obligations of the President, Vice-President and Members; and how to go about collecting opinions from the public and legal professionals. Under the regulations, members have the right to suggest the president set up special study groups that specialists and professionals may be invited to join. They also discussed ways to strengthen the functions of the Consulative Council, and to work closely with the Office for Legal Reform. The Consulative Council for Legal Reform was established on 14 March 2005 by Executive Order.
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The Consultative Council for Legal Reform will focus on the revisions of the Commercial Code, Traffic Regulations and a provident fund scheme for civil servants. President of the new advisory body and Secretary for Justice and Administration, Ms Florinda Chan, disclosed this today after the advisory body held its first meeting. The Council was set up on 14 March by Executive Order, which was published in the Official Gazette. Ms Chan said the council would discuss how to launch the revisions of the Commercial Code and Traffic Regulations in the next meeting. She said members would split into three groups to discuss the three issues and the council would consult public opinions regarding to the revisions.
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Information from Statistics and Census Service indicates that number of visitor arrivals totalled 1,532,993 in March 2005, which represented a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. Visitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China increased 4.5%, 32.4% and 33.0% respectively compared with March last year. Meanwhile, same-day visitors accounted for 53.2% of the total arrivals, at 815,921. The majority of visitors came from Mainland China (54.0% of the total), Hong Kong (31.7%) and Taiwan, China (8.4%). Among the visitors from Mainland China, 422,359 (51.1%) travelled to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme. In the first quarter of 2005, visitor arrivals totalled 4,457,022, up 18.8% over the same period of last year. Visitors from Mainland China increased 13.5% to 2,485,015, which accounted for 55.8% of the total; Hong Kong and Taiwan, China shared 30.5% and 8.0% of the total respectively. Furthermore, same-day visitors made up 52.7% of the total, at 2,347,930. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea went up 10.0% year on year to 1,593,151 in the first quarter of 2005, with 1,549,439 arriving at the Outer Harbour (+9.6%); the majority of these visitors were from Hong Kong (60.2%) and Mainland China (29.0%). Visitor arrivals at the Inner Harbour rose 28.5% to 43,712, of which 70.0% were from Mainland China. Meanwhile, arrivals by land increased 22.9% year on year to 2,619,761, with 2,419,482 arriving through the Border Gate. The majority of these visitors came from Mainland China (76.9%) and Hong Kong (16.6%). Visitors arriving through the Checkpoint of CoTai were 200,279. In addition, arrivals by air were 244,110, up 42.9% compared with the same period of last year, with 241,445 arriving at the Macao International Airport (+44.2%). Visitors from Taiwan, China (69.5%) and Mainland China (15.8%) were the major users of this access.
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The 54th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference ended today with a closing address by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and Chairman of the Macao Host Committee, Mr Chui Sai On. Mr Chui said the support of the Central Government and the Pacific Asia Travel Association was the key to the success of the conference. “The invaluable thoughts and experience exchanged during the conference will no doubt create profound impact to the sustainable development of the tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region,” Mr Chui said. “With the gaming and tourism industry as the driving force, Macao has entered into a new era of development. Some of the major entertainment facilities will be completed in a few years. By then, Macao will have a brand new face.“ The outgoing Chairman, Mr Ram Kohli, and the incoming 2005/2006 PATA Chairman, Mr Nabutaka Ishikure, also spoke at the closing ceremony, which also featured a performance that highlighted the future of Macao. The Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Ms Juthamas Siriwan, invited the delegates to PAC2006, to be held in Pattaya, Thailand next year.
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MACAU SAR, CHINA (PRC), April 20, 2005 – The 54th PATA Annual Conference closed today with speaker Mr Vincent Lo drawing from his own experiences to describe how to “build success”. Mr Lo is Chairman of Shui On Holdings, a group engaged in property, construction and construction materials and which has successfully created value for destinations through leisure and lifestyle property developments. Mr Lo asserted that tourism and property development are parallel industries. “Tourism and property development can go hand-in-hand,” he said. “Success in both is based on some common fundamentals: people, environment, culture, architecture, facilities and supporting services.” The closing session of the Conference also saw a reshuffle among PATA’s Officers. Japan Airlines Executive Officer Mr Nobutaka Ishikure is PATA’s new Chairman for 2005/2006, replacing outgoing Chairman Mr Ram Kohli. Every year the chairmanship of PATA rotates among the Association’s three major of categories of membership: Carrier, Government/Destination and Industry. PATA Chairman-elect during 2005/2006, representing the Government/Destination category of PATA membership, is Tourism Australia Director-International Marketing Mr Richard Beere. Hospitality Link-up Director and PATA Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Mr David Paulon takes the office of PATA Secretary/Treasurer, replacing Accor Greater China CEO Mr Brian Deeson who held that office for two terms. Mr Paulon delivered the 2004/2005 PATA Foundation Address, during which he provided background to the Tsunami Recovery Fund and described projects to which money has been pledged. During the course of three days of the Conference, delegates heard that while forecasts for the next three years were positive – PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre predicts average growth of 10.6% per year in international arrivals to Asia Pacific – there were several pressing challenges facing travel and tourism. Threats and challenges identified by PATA’s ongoing Total Tourism Survey included bird flu, terrorism, environmental degradation and the ability of tourism infrastructure to handle one of the world’s fastest growing industries. An interesting preliminary finding of the survey is that bird flu is perceived by tourism professionals as a greater potential threat than SARS. Respondents were also worried about future terrorist activity, with the majority saying that governments should pay for security. To pre-empt and be prepared for most of these challenges, delegates learned that it was essential for tourism stakeholders to develop credible and targeted communications strategies. International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General and CEO Mr Giovanni Bisignani, during his keynote address, identified cost-reduction and simplification as keys to a sustainable and profitable future. He singled out monopolistic airport pricing and government tax policy as key fronts in the battle for airlines to remain profitable. He also called on IATA and PATA to join forces and bring other industry stakeholders together. Panellists on the well-attended “Windows on China” session agreed that the China (PRC) and Japanese governments needed to initiate reconciliation in the wake of anti-Japanese demonstrations in China (PRC). The 55th PATA Annual Conference will take place in Pattaya, Thailand in 2006. ABOUT PATA Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is the recognised authority on Asia Pacific travel and tourism. PATA provides leadership and advocacy to the collective efforts of nearly 100 government, state and city tourism bodies, more than 55 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of travel industry companies. In addition, thousands of travel professionals belong to dozens of PATA chapters worldwide. PATA's mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of Asia Pacific travel and tourism for the benefit of its membership. PATA is a not-for-profit organisation. Find out more about PATA at www.PATA.org.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that in the academic year 2003/2004, there were 143 schools or institutions providing regular education, including 12 institutions of higher education that were recognized by the Government of Macao SAR and 131 schools that offered pre-primary, primary and secondary education (including vocational-technical secondary education). Among those providing pre-primary, primary and secondary education, 111 were private schools and 88 of them have joined the universal basic education network. Besides, there were 15 schools providing special education, with regard to adult education, Education Survey for this academic year has collected information from 129 establishments of adult education. Number of teachers engaged in regular education grew 2.3% over the previous academic year to 5 445. Among them, 4 341 were in pre-primary, primary and secondary education, while 1 104 were in higher education. Number of teachers engaged in special and adult education was 116 and 2 299, which corresponded to an increase of 9.4% and 27.9% respectively compared with the previous academic year. At the end of the academic year 2003/2004, there were 110 494 students attending regular education, up slightly by 0.2% over the previous academic year. Among them, 96 814 were in pre-primary, primary and secondary education and 13 680 in higher education. At the same time, number of students in special education was 568, a decrease of 3.2% over the academic year 2002/2003, while students enrolled in adult education totalled 96 131, up 11.0% over the previous academic year. The teacher / student ratio was 1 to 22.3 in pre-primary, primary and secondary education, 1 to 12.4 in higher education, 1 to 4.9 and 1 to 41.8 in special and adult education respectively. In addition, average class size in pre-primary, primary and secondary education was 39.0 and the class promotion rate was 89.8%.
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MACAU SAR, CHINA (PRC), April 19, 2005 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)’s Strategic Intelligence Centre outlined the many potential threats facing the travel and tourism industry in Asia Pacific during a session of the 54th PATA Annual Conference, April 19.
Issues such as bird flu, terrorism, environmental degradation and the ability of infrastructure to handle one of the world’s fastest growing industries were only some of the issues identified in PATA’s Total Tourism Survey. More than 250 respondents to the ongoing survey identified bird flu as a greater potential threat than SARS. Respondents were worried about future terrorist activity, with the majority saying that governments should pay for security.
The survey investigates all the modern issues directly or indirectly facing the travel industry, among them: peace negotiations, terrorism, European Union expansion, a common Asian currency, bird flu, global warming, ageing populations, tourism as cultural protector or destroyer, the mass media's coverage of crises, the impact of travel advisories, distribution technology, aviation, human resource challenges, domestic and regional tourism growth and whether the industry is ready to handle a large volume of traffic from India and China (PRC).
PATA will announce the full results of the survey later this year.
Travel industry workers can fill out the survey by visiting www.PATA.org/ttsurvey.
Until April 21, journalists interested in the PATA Total Tourism Survey initial results can call (853) 6131037, or e-mail: communications@PATA.org.
ABOUT PATA Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is the recognised authority on Asia Pacific travel and tourism. PATA provides leadership and advocacy to the collective efforts of nearly 100 government, state and city tourism bodies, more than 55 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of travel industry companies. In addition, thousands of travel professionals belong to dozens of PATA chapters worldwide.
PATA's mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of Asia Pacific travel and tourism for the benefit of its membership. PATA is a not-for-profit organisation.
Find out more about PATA at www.PATA.org.
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MACAU SAR, CHINA (PRC), April 19, 2005 – Panellists on the 54th PATA Annual Conference session “Windows on China”, April 19, including China National Tourism Administration Vice-Chairman Mr Gu Zhaoxi, agreed that the China (PRC) and Japan governments needed to initiate reconciliation between the two countries, in the wake of anti-Japanese demonstrations in China (PRC). Despite panellists’ assurances that Japanese individuals were safe in China (PRC), Japanese travellers have been cancelling their trips out of fear for their safety. China International Travel Service Executive Vice President Mr Yao Yeucan said tourism was an important tool for resolving this issue. Mr Yao cited statistics showing the tremendous growth in Chinese tourism. In 2004, Chinese tourism revenue was US$82 billion, an increase of 40.1% over 2003. From 1996 to 2004, annual average tourism revenue growth was 12.5%, more than 1.5 times faster than growth in the Chinese economy as a whole. Mr Yao said China (PRC) was also the world’s biggest emerging market for outbound tourism and is now the largest tourism-generating country in Asia. “By 2020, China will be the number one tourism-generating country in the world,” he said. Average spend for outbound Chinese travellers in Europe is US$175 per person per day, which is three times more than what Japanese travellers spend in Australia, according to Mr Yao. He identified two potential niche markets for China (PRC) outbound: student travel and cruising. MK Corporation Chairman Mr Peter Wong noted that on top of the enormous opportunities for both inbound and outbound tourism, there were 840 million domestic trips taken in 2004. However, he said the Chinese government needed to allow more input from travel agents, hotels, industry partners and other tourism stakeholders, as most tourism-related establishments are government owned. The potential for destination development would be better realised in partnership with private stakeholders, he said. Accor Greater China Senior Vice President Mr Brian Deeson said there was big growth potential in the 5-star and 3-star accommodation markets within China (PRC) as well as an important emerging market for Chinese outbound travellers. Five years ago, Accor concentrated on the Japanese market. Now its focus is the Chinese market. And to cater to Chinese outbound travellers, hoteliers have to offer the right products and services, such as Chinese breakfasts. The session was moderated by CNN Talk Asia’s Ms Lorraine Hahn. ABOUT PATA Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is the recognised authority on Asia Pacific travel and tourism. PATA provides leadership and advocacy to the collective efforts of nearly 100 government, state and city tourism bodies, more than 55 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of travel industry companies. In addition, thousands of travel professionals belong to dozens of PATA chapters worldwide. PATA's mission is to enhance the growth, value and quality of Asia Pacific travel and tourism for the benefit of its membership. PATA is a not-for-profit organisation. Find out more about PATA at www.PATA.org.
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