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The 54th PATA Annual Conference – Macau Host Committee General Meeting was held this morning (6 April) at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Dr Chui Sai-On, Secretary for Social Affairs & Culture, Government of Macau SAR, and Chairman of the PAC05 Macau Host Committee spoke at the meeting that Macau will for its first time be the host of the PATA Annual Conference and it should grasp this valuable opportunity to gain the experience of hosting and organizing a large scale international conference and to strive for better achievements over the good foundation laid in the past. Dr Chui said the Macau Government Tourist Office has been a PATA member since 1966 and has always been active in promoting the tourism industry of Macau and in the pursuit of Macau to be the host of the PATA Annual Conference. He stated that this PATA Annual Conference will offer Macau a good chance to demonstrate its overall ability to accommodate large scale conventions. He also mentioned that Macau could gain more experience to opt for a better result over that of the good foundation laid in the past. Engineer Joao Manuel Costa Autunes, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office and Chairman of the Organising Committee reported the progress of the preparations and discussed various aspects of the preparations with members of the Macau Host Committee who took part in the meeting. The Macau Host Committee chaired by Dr Chui Sai-on, Secretary for Social Affairs & Culture, was formed last year for organising the 54th PATA Annual Conference. The Macau Host Committee is comprised of an Advisory Committee, an Organising Committee and a Secretariat while Engineer Joao Manuel Costa Autunes, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office is the Chairman of the Organising Committee. The PATA Annual Conference, with a different theme each year, is held annually to offer a chance for industry personnel to exchange ideas. The theme of the coming 54th event is “Connecting Tourism Stakeholders”. The conference will be held from 17 to 21 April at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. For media information, please visit the website at www.macautourism.gov.mo Respectable officials and Life Members of PATA are invited to attend the conference. Ministers’ level officials from the tourism industry of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Timor Leste, Tonga and Mainland China are invited to participate in the Tourism Ministers Private Luncheon Forum. Over 50 internationally renowned professionals and scholars in the tourism industry are invited to share their thoughts and experiences at the various sessions of the Conference. Keynote speaker of the opening session of the conference is Mr Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA whereas Mr Vincent H S Lo, Chairman of Shui On Holdings Limited, Hong Kong will be the keynote speaker at the Closing ceremony.
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Due to the long Chinese New Year holidays in February 2005, Macao’s total export value amounted to MOP793 million, down 36.5% over the same month of 2004. Among this, the value of domestic exports decreased 42.0% to MOP529 million, and the value of re-exports also went down 21.6% to MOP264 million. Value of imports amounted to MOP1.47 billion, down 18.6% over the same period of 2004. A trade deficit of MOP672 million was recorded this month. During the period of January – February 2005, the value of total exports recorded a year-on-year decrease of 13.3% to MOP2.27 billion. Among this, the value of domestic exports decreased 19.8% whereas the value of re-exports rose 9.6%. Meanwhile, the value of imports amounted to MOP3.71 billion, up 10.0% over the same period of 2004. In the first two months of 2005, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP1.44 billion. During this period, the exports/imports ratio decreased from 77.7% in the corresponding period of 2004 to 61.2%. In the first two months of 2005, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 73.8% of total exports, decreased 16.1% over the same period of 2004. Moreover, the value of Non-textile exports also went down 4.3%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof grew 13.6%, whereas exports of Footwear dropped 87.9% year on year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 62.0% of the total export value. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 46.5% of the total export value, decreased 4.9% in value over the same period of 2004; exports to the EU, which made up 15.5% of the total exports, also decreased 51.5% in value over the same period of 2004. In the period of January – February 2005, Macao’s total import value increased 10.0% year on year. In terms of broad economic categories, Fuels & lubricants, Consumer goods and Capital goods rose 19.8%, 16.5% and 14.4% respectively, whereas Raw materials & semi-manufactures registered a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%. Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong together constituted 47.6% of the total import value. Compared with the same period of 2004, the value of imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong rose 7.5% and 1.7% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service showed that total number of visitor arrivals increased 40% over 2003 to a historical high of 16,672,556 in 2004. Visitors came mainly from Mainland China and Hong Kong, which corresponded to 57% and 30% of total arrivals; besides, 3,518,752 Mainland visitors travelled to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme. Same-day visitors totalled 8,349,125 and accounted for 50% of the total arrivals. In addition, visitors in package tours leaped to 2,519,251, up 64% over 2003. In 2004, visitor arrivals by sea, by land and by air were 6,304,563 (+22%), 9,506,210 (+57%) and 861,783 (+32%) respectively. The number of Macao residents travelling in package tours went up 35% over 2003 to 211,966. Meanwhile, 286,471 Macao residents travelled under own arrangements with the assistance of travel agencies, a growth of 37% over 2003. Compared with 2003, number of overnight guests increased 30% to 3,956,154. The average occupancy rate of the hotel sector was 75.6%, a jump of 11.3 percentage points. The average length of stay of overnight guests was 1.22 nights, down 0.04 night. Per-capita spending of visitors in 2004 was MOP 1,633, up 8% over 2003. Per-capita spending of Mainland visitors topped the list with MOP 2,991. Per-capita spending of visitors arriving by sea and by air was MOP 1,372 (+3%) and MOP 4,882 (+21%) respectively, while that of visitors arriving by land had similar spending as in 2003, with MOP 1,569. In addition, per-capita non-shopping spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors was MOP 885, rose 6% over 2003. Visitors from Mainland China topped the list in this category, with MOP 1,201. Per-capita non-shopping spending of visitors were mainly spent on “food and beverage” (40%) and “accommodation” (37%). Per-capita shopping spending of visitors increased 9% over 2003 to MOP 748, among which visitors from Mainland China took the lead with MOP 1,790. This was followed by those from Taiwan, China (MOP 491) and Southeast Asia (MOP 393), while that of visitors from Hong Kong was MOP 244. “Chinese pastry, candy and food” (24% of the total shopping spending) and “clothing and fabrics” (22%) were the more popular shopping items. In 2004, per-diem spending of visitors rose 18% over 2003 to MOP 1,449. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending of MOP 2,322. Per-diem spending of visitors arriving by sea, by land and by air was MOP 1,312 (+13%), MOP 1,477 (+12%) and MOP 2,208 (+48%) respectively.
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Survey coverage of the Gaming Industry for the fourth quarter of 2004 excludes junket promoters and junket associates. Information on the number of employees, number of vacancies and earnings is as follows: At the end of the fourth quarter of 2004, there were 21,264 paid employees engaged in the Gaming Industry, an increase of 7.5% compared with the second quarter of 2004. Analyzed by occupation, 11,637 were engaged in positions that are directly related to betting services, such as Hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc., an increase of 9.3% over the second quarter of 2004, while 4,920 were engaged as “Services and sales workers”, which included mainly Casino and slot machine attendants / hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc., up 7.9% compared with the second quarter of 2004. In December 2004, average earnings for full-time paid employees of this industry fell 1.4% over June 2004 to MOP 10,730; the average for resident workers dropped 1.6% to MOP 9,870 whereas the average for non-resident workers was MOP 20,174, a slight increase of 0.3%. Average earnings for those positions that are directly related to betting services, such as Hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc. was MOP 11,420, a decrease of 4.8%. Average earnings for “Services and sales workers”, which included mainly Casino and slot machine attendants / hosts, security and surveillance workers, etc. remained at similar level as June 2004, at MOP 6,311. At the end of December 2004, there were 7,104 vacant posts in the Gaming Industry, an increase of 44.2% over June 2004. By occupation, Hard and soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, dealers, betting service operators, etc. offered 4,646 vacancies while “Services and sales workers” had 1,900 vacancies. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, about 10% of the overall vacant posts required “Professional experience”, around 70% of the vacant posts required Senior Secondary education or higher in “Academic achievement”. Besides “Cantonese”, other preferred language skills were “Mandarin” (87.7%) and “English” (62.6%).
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The President of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, Mr Vassilios Skouris, is visiting Macao today, at the invitation by the Court of Final Appeal of Macao. President of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Sam Hou Fai, is planned to meet Mr Skouris to discuss enhancing the links and co-operation between the two courts. Chief Executive of Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, and Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va, will meet the delegation during its five-day visit in Macao. The delegation will pay visit to the Public Prosecutions Office and the Legal and Judicial Training Centre. Members of the delegation include court members Mr Peter Jann, Mr Christiaan W. A. Timmermans, Mr Allan Rosas, Mr Anthony Borg Barthet and Mr Claus Gulmann. This is the Court's first official visit to Macao.
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According to statistics released by the Statistics and Census Service, resident population of Macao was estimated at 465 333 as at 31 December 2004, the annual growth rate was 3.7% in 2004. Among the resident population, 52.0% were female and 48.0% were male. In terms of age distribution, 17.1% aged between 0-14, 74.8% between 15-64 and 8.1% aged 65 and over. In the 4th quarter of 2004, there were 989 live births and 371 deaths. In 2004, number of live births totalled 3 308, up 3.0% over 2003. Total number of death cases reported were 1 533, up 4.0% compared with 2003. Major causes of death were “Neoplasms”, “Diseases of the circulatory system” and “Diseases of the respiratory system”. There were 1 137 cases of notifiable diseases reported in the 4th quarter of 2004, and the annual total was 2 919 cases in 2004, which included “Varicella (chickenpox)” (1 680 cases), “Tuberculosis of lung” (315 cases) and “Enterovirus infection” (224 cases). Meanwhile, 489 case of marriage were registered in the 4th quarter of 2004 and the annual total was 1 737 cases in 2004, up 32.7% over 2003. In 2004, the median age of first marriage was 27.5 for female and 30.1 for male. In the 4th quarter of 2004, 1 822 persons were granted authorization to reside in Macao and the annual total was 7 279 persons in 2004. At the end of 2004, the balance was 39 028, an increase of 1 719 persons compared with the end of 3rd quarter of 2004 and 6 861 persons compared with the end of 2003. In 2004, total number of legal immigrants from Mainland China was 6 885, with 1 267 persons arrived in the 4th quarter of 2004. Among the total number of immigrants arrived in 2004, 61.9% were female and 70.4% came from Guangdong. In the 4th quarter of 2004, 86 illegal immigrants were repatriated to Mainland China and the annual total was 403 persons, down 18.8% over 2003. The year-end balance of non-resident workers in 2004 was 27 736, which showed an increase of 1 202 and 2 766 persons compared with the 3rd quarter of 2004 and the end of 2003 respectively.
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Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,214,778 crossing the five immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the Easter holidays (April 25 to 28 ) Total number of arrivals stood at 612,578
with Border-gate 464,141
Lotus Bridge 17,563
Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 114,568
Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 2,697
Macao International Airport 13,609 Total of departures stood at 602,200
with Border-gate 461,569
Lotus Bridge 17,144
Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 106,794
Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 2,459
Macao International Airport 14,234 Meanwhile, total number of tourists entering Macao in that period stood at 275,091,with a growth of 18.57% over the same period of last year.
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According to the results of the Employment Survey released by Statistics and Census Service, the unemployment rate in December 2004 - February 2005 was 4.1%, down 0.1 and 1.4 percentage points over November 2004 - January 2005 and December 2003 - February 2004 respectively. The underemployment rate was 1.2%, unchanged over November 2004 - January 2005, but down 0.9 percentage point over December 2003 - February 2004. The number of the unemployed searching for their first job was about 1 000, or 10.3% of the total unemployed population. This represented a decrease of 1.2 percentage points over November 2004 - January 2005. Compared with November 2004 - January 2005, unemployment situation in Wholesale & retail trade and Hotels, restaurants & similar activities reported improvements, while it worsened in Transport, storage & communications. Total labour force was estimated at 238 000 in December 2004 - February 2005; the employed and the unemployed populations were 228 000 and 9 800 respectively. Labour force participation rate was 62.4%, which fell 0.4 percentage point compared with November 2004 - January 2005, but rose 0.8 percentage point over December 2003 - February 2004.
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Information from Statistics and Census Service showed that Composite CPI for February 2005 was 96.80, up 0.84% over the previous month. Owing to rising prices in hairdressing services before Lunar New Year, as well as price increases in outbound package tours, air tickets, fresh fruit and vegetables during Lunar New Year period, the indices of Other goods and services, Transport and communications, and Foodstuffs and beverages went up 3.91%, 1.36% and 1.23% respectively. On the other hand, Clothing and footwear was the only section whose index fell 3.02% as a result of promotional sales in winter clothing and footwear. Composite CPI in February 2005 showed a significant year-on-year increase of 3.42%. For the 12 months ended February 2005, the average Composite CPI rose 1.59% over the previous period. Average Composite CPI for January to February 2005 went up 3.00% over the same period of 2004. In comparison with January 2005, CPI(A) and CPI(B) increased 0.78% and 0.77% respectively. CPI(A) relates to 54% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP3,000 - MOP9,999. CPI(B) relates to 26% of households, which had an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 - MOP19,999.
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Information from Statistics and Census Service showed that the number of visitor arrivals totalled 1,522,590 in February 2005, which represented a year-on-year increase of 37.1%. Visitors from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China increased 26.2%, 48.7% and 64.5% respectively compared with February last year, due to the fact that the Chinese New Year holiday was in February in 2005. Meanwhile, same-day visitors accounted for 52.4% of the total arrivals, at 797,143. Visitors came mainly from Mainland China (54.7% of the total), Hong Kong (32.5%) and Taiwan, China (8.0%). Among those from Mainland China, 463,550 (55.7%) arrived in Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme. In the first two months of 2005, visitor arrivals totalled 2,924,029, up 19.6% over the same period of last year. Arrivals from Mainland China increased 18.6% to 1,657,748, which accounted for 56.7% of the total; Hong Kong and Taiwan, China shared 29.8% and 7.7% respectively. Furthermore, same-day visitors made up 52.4% of the total, at 1,532,009. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitors arrived by sea went up 11.1% to 1,047,896 in the first two months of 2005, with 1,017,292 arriving at the Outer Harbour (+10.7%) and the majority of these visitors were from Hong Kong (59.0%) and Mainland China (30.2%). Visitor arrivals at the Inner Harbour rose 27.9% to 30,604 while 70.5% were from Mainland China. At the same time, arrivals by land soared 23.3% to 1,715,556, with 1,588,003 arriving through the Border Gate. The majority of the visitors came from Mainland China (77.5%) and Hong Kong (16.2%). Meanwhile, there were 127,553 visitors arriving through the Checkpoint of CoTai. In addition, arrivals by air were 160,577, up 45.9% compared with the same period of last year, with 158,982 arrived at the Macao International Airport (+47.4%). Visitors from Taiwan, China (68.4%) and Mainland China (16.7%) were the major users of this access.
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