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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, has pledged that the second term Macao Special Administrative Region Government would continue to enhance the quality of life of its citizens. In his New Year Message, Mr Ho also conveyed condolences to victims and families of the tsunami disaster, which included several Macao residents. Mr Ho called on the people to provide assistance, regardless of nationality and race, and said the Government would continue to carry out its duty by providing various forms of support. Looking forward to 2005, Mr Ho said the Government would continue to provide service to citizens by matching the new development pace of Macao and by changing their mindset and pattern. He said the plans for the Government in 2005 included balancing the labour market, raise the accountability of officials of all ranks, enhance public administration, hold the 4th East Asian Games successfully, and to operate a centre to comprehensively study ways to improve the quality of life The Chief Executive said he expected the prosperity of Macao to flow over to various industries and communities in addition to those associated with the entertainment industry. He said citizens might enjoy numerous opportunities and face unparalleled challenges at the same times in the revival economy, and reminded them to use their wisdom to capitalise on the opportunities that come up with the challenges. Mr Ho also praised the contribution of Macao citizens in the past year. Public revenue had increased dramatically, the result of liberalising the gaming industry and the Individual Visit Scheme introduced by the Central Government that brought record number of travellers from the Mainland. Macao has also attained success in its role as a platform to boost trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, is one of the most important economic policies of the Government, he said.
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Two Macao doctors and a nurse went to Sri Lanka to aid the tsunami-hit country. The three volunteers, who work for the public Centre S. Januario Hospital, joined the Chinese medical team to Sri Lanka. The Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in MSAR and the Ministry of Health assisted in the arrangement.
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After the strike of tsunamis unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter, from last Friday (Dec. 31) noon till today (Jan. 3) 5:30 pm has received a total of 4 calls to (853) 315566, including 2 cases of inquiry, 1 request for assistance and 1 call from citizens providing relevant information. As at 5:30 pm today, MGTO Headquarter has received a total of 69 calls --- 23 inquiries, 27 requests for assistance and 19 calls from citizens providing relevant information. At present, MGTO endeavors to assist in the search for missing Macau residents in the affected areas, provide transportation and accommodation arrangements for the affected residents etc. MGTO is following up the cases and has learnt that the travel agency has not yet been able to make contact with one Macau resident. MGTO will therefore continue to keep close contact with airlines and the concerned travel agency, to search for the resident. The 5 Macau residents who are unaccounted for according to the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau are still missing. In support of the searching task in the affected area, MGTO has already sent over some of the DNA detection reports of immediate family members of the missing Macau residents to Thailand. The Scientific Laboratory of the Judicial Police in Macau will continue to effectively provide DNA detection reports to be sent to Thailand to help the local staff for identification. Identification Department and Health Bureau of the Macau SAR Government are now gathering all sorts of document of the missing, and together with the information provided by families and friends, to be sent over to Thailand to facilitate the search by the government staff and volunteers at hospitals in Bangkok and Phuket to locate the Macau residents who are missing. The volunteer Macau doctor has arrived in Phuket on the evening of January 1 and joined in the volunteer team formed by the Macau residents immediately to provide medical advises and support to the team and assist in finding the missing at the hospitals in Phuket and Bangkok. In view of the severe conditions of the strike of tsunamis, Macau SAR Government has sent medical relief to aid the affected areas, particularly Khao Lak, which was heavily devastated by the tsunamis. The volunteer Macau doctor also helped to pass the medical relief to hospital in Khao Lak today and will continue to provide assistance needed by the local medical teams. Air Macau also provides relevant supports by transferring the medical relief and DNA detection reports to the affected areas and assists in transportation for the affected Macau residents when necessary. The Airport Management Company of Macau, Immigration Services and MGTO also provide special immigration arrangements and other support for the needs. MGTO will continue to closely monitor the incident.
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After the strike of tsunamis unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received today (Dec. 31) till 12pm a total of 5 calls to (853) 315566, including 2 requests for assistance and 3 calls from citizens providing relevant information. As at 12pm today, Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received a total of 65 calls --- 21 inquiries, 26 requests for assistance and 18 calls from citizens providing relevant information. The requests include seeking for assistance to search for missing relatives or friends in the affected areas and transportation arrangement. MGTO has taken prompt follow-up actions concerning the cases. The government staff and volunteers in Bangkok and Phuket continue to search in hospitals in Bangkok and Phuket to locate the Macau residents who are missing. For the 10 some people who are not in contact with the travel agencies, MGTO learnt today that except for one person, the rest have returned to Macau. However, the 5 Macau residents who are unaccounted for according to the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau are still missing. As the hygiene condition of the affected area is getting worse, the authorities in Macau urge the immediate family members of the missing Macau residents not to go to Phuket for the search as the Scientific Laboratory of the Judicial Police in Macau will provide DNA detection for them and will send the reports to Thailand to help the local staff for identification. MGTO continues to uploaded the relevant information of the unaccounted for to the hospitals in Bangkok and more websites to expand the searching scope. MGTO will continue to closely monitor the incident.
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After the strike of tsunamis unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received today (Dec. 30) till 5pm a total of 9 calls to (853) 315566, including 3 cases of inquiry, 2 requests for assistance and 4 calls from citizens providing relevant information. As at 5pm today, Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received a total of 60 calls --- 21 inquiries, 24 requests for assistance and 15 calls from citizens providing relevant information. The requests include seeking for assistance to search for missing relatives or friends in the affected areas and transportation arrangement. MGTO has taken prompt follow-up actions concerning the cases. The government staff and volunteers in Bangkok and Phuket continue to provide possible assistance to the 34 Macau residents affected by the incidents including search for the unaccounted for. Among the 34 Macau residents, some have already returned to Macau with the help and arrangements of MGTO staff and other entities. For the 10 some people who are not in contact with the travel agencies, MGTO learnt today that only 5 are unaccounted for and it is not confirmed that whether these 5 people are in the affected area. As the hygiene condition of the affected area is getting worse, a Macau doctor offers to join in the volunteer team formed by the Macau residents in Phuket to provide medical advises and support to the team and assist in finding the missing. The two MGTO staff who will take the shift would bring with them the necessities to Thailand to help the needs. MGTO has also uploaded the relevant information of the unaccounted for to the hospitals in Bangkok and more websites to expand the searching scope. MGTO will continue to closely monitor the incident.
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After the strike of tsunamis unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received today (Dec. 29) till 5pm a total of 14 calls to (853) 315566, including 2 cases of inquiry, 9 requests for assistance and 3 calls from citizens providing relevant information. At 5pm today, Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received 51 calls --- 18 inquiries, 22 requests for assistance and 11 calls from citizens providing relevant information. The requests include seeking for assistance to search for missing relatives or friends in the affected areas and transportation arrangement. MGTO has taken prompt follow-up actions concerning the cases. Two MGTO staffs, one Macau Government Information Bureau staff sent to Thailand and the MGTO’s representation office in Thailand have assisted 33 Macau residents affected by the incidents in these two days. They have been providing assistances include arranging transportation from Phuket to Bangkok and transfers from hospitals in Phuket to hospitals in Bangkok, contacting and searching families and friends, arranging air ticket postponements and hotel accommodation, assisting in cases of lost travel documents and air tickets, arranging local transportation between airports and hospitals etc. Through the Macau International Dive Centre, MGTO sent over photos of the missing people identified by the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau to Thailand for the concerned institute to deploy divers to search for the missing. At the same time, Macau residents who were traveling in Phuket when the incident happened voluntarily stayed to assist Macau residents in Phuket. With the support by MGTO, the volunteers continued to work closely with the team in Bangkok. MGTO has sent the photo and information of the missing Macau residents to all the hospitals in Phuket, the Royal Thai Consulate General in Hong Kong and has also uploaded the relevant information to a website in Thailand, www.servicesmind.com which is specially set up for this incident to facilitate the searching work. Macau citizens can also surf the website www.phuketitcity.com in Thailand to search for relevant information and numbers for assistance. MGTO has continued to liaise with the travel agencies in Macau. 18 travel agencies that has organized tours groups or issue tickets to the affected regions reported that 150 Macau residents were in the area, with 133 in Bangkok and Phuket, 9 in Indonesia and 8 in India. The agencies expressed that they have established contact with most of them, except for 10-odd, with few of them not in the affected area. MGTO will continue to closely monitor the incident. Health Bureau of Macau SAR Government expressed that the Hospital Central Conde de S. Januário is prepared to provide ambulance and medical services to the injured Macau residents when necessary. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (UT) has issued guidelines for Macau residents who will travel to the area affected by earthquakes and tsunamis. For details, please see the press release of the Health Bureau.
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After the strike of tidal waves unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Macau Government Tourist Office Headquarter has received a total of 37 calls to (853) 315566 from yesterday afternoon (Dec. 27) till 6pm today (Dec. 28), including 16 cases of inquiries, 13 requests for assistance and 8 calls from citizens providing relevant information. The requests include seeking for assistance to search for missing relatives or friends in the affected areas and transportation arrangement. MGTO has taken prompt follow-up actions concerning the cases. The two MGTO staff sent to Thailand and the MGTO’s representation office in Thailand have assisted 28 Macau residents affected by the incidents in arrangements of medical care, hotel accommodation, travel documents, transportation and air tickets. MGTO will continue to closely monitor the incident.
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The Thai Government, Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) jointly announced today the following emergency measures to urgently assist tourists: 1. The government will provide “Help Counter” at 3 airports in Southern Thailand including Krabi, Ranong and Phuket and members of Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) can inform these Help Counters to transfer tourists from these 3 airports to Bangkok Airport at no cost. The contact numbers are as follows: Call Center 1155, Krabi Airport 0-1825-5815 Mr. Sa-ad; Phuket Airport 0-6947-6129 Ms. Nantasiri; Phuket Airport 0-9177-0862 Ms. Kanokporn. 2. A ‘Help Counter’ will also be established at Bangkok Airport, located at VIP Room 3 on the 2nd floor, Domestic Terminal, with contact number at 0-2535-7670-3, or hotline 1672 press 0 (Crisis Management Counter). Staffs of TAT, ATTA and Tourist Police will assist and provide transfer from Bangkok Airport to hotels in Bangkok or other places. The Thai Government has provided 200 rooms at Thammasart University, Rangsit. 3. Tourists who have booked tours or packages through ATTA members will be handled by ATTA, which individual tourists will be handled by ‘Help Counter’. 4. The Thai Government will help with the cost of air tickets, hotel accommodation, meals and medical services through ATTA. 5. ATTA’s Call Center at Bangkok Airport
Mr. Surapong 0-2504-3866, 0-1811-5521
Mr. Thawatchai 0-2504-3866, 0-6375-2292
Mr. Panuwat 0-2504-3866, 0-6549-6419 6. ATTA’s Call Center at Bangkok downtown office
Mr. Somwong 0-2632-7892, 0-1611-2528
Mr. Thanit 0-2632-7003, 0-1801-1257
Ms. Sirinporn 0-2237-6046-8, 0-9388-1320
e-mail: info@atta.or.th Fax: 0-2237-6045
(source: Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA))
AirAsia has also announced that their passengers, who are affected by the tidal waves incidents, can call: Bangkok: (66)2-515-9999, Phuket: (66)76-351-428 for inquiries of the ticket arrangement.
(source: Representation office of MGTO in Thailand)
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is deeply concerned about the conditions, in particularly, the safety of the Macau residents who are traveling in the area after the strike of tidal waves unleashed by earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra. MGTO have contacted the 115 travel agencies in Macau. Among which, 14 travel agencies reported that 92 Macau residents who joined their tour packages or bought air tickets from them were in Thailand (Bangkok & Phuket) and 4 others in Indonesia. Another 18 travel agencies will soon provide the concerned figures and the remaining 83 travel agencies said that they did not organize tour groups or issue tickets to the affected regions. Currently, MGTO is researching on the number of Macau residents who are traveling on individual basis. Yesterday MGTO has adopted immediate action to deploy two staff from MGTO to Bangkok to learn more about the incident and provide possible assistance to the Macau residents affected by the strike. Meanwhile, MGTO will keep close contact with local travel agencies and learn about the update conditions through various means. The two MGTO staff, together with MGTO’s representation office in Thailand, will assist in searching and contacting the Macau residents who are in the area and provide help, if necessary, in arrangement of travel documents and air tickets to return to Macau. As the communication channels/ networks are largely affected by the tidal wave in Phuket, PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Headquarter has immediately sent members to Phuket to learn more about the conditions of touring groups and individual travelers. They are keeping close contact with MGTO’s staff stationed in Bangkok to provide assistance to the needs. For enquiries and assistance of local residents, please call 315566. Macau residents who are aboard and need assistance, please contact MGTO’s representative office in Bangkok, Thailand at (66-2) 255- 5989, (66) 9685- 8194. On the other hand, Thailand Authorities have also set up rescue hotlines: Bangkok (66-2) 253-7418; Phuket (66-76) 391-596 for inquiry.
MGTO will continue to monitor closely the incident.
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Immigration authorities recorded a total of 893809 crossing the five immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the Christmas holidays (24 December to 26 December) Total number of arrivals stood at 450,909,with Border-gate 348,496
Lotus Bridge 10,706
Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 80,664
Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 2,221
Macao International Airport 8,822 Total of departures stood at 442,900, with Border-gate 359,637
Lotus Bridge 11,558
Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 60,092
Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 2,157
Macao International Airport 9,456 Meanwhile, total number of tourists entering Macao in that period stood at 184,789
with a growth of 39.02%
over the same period of last year.
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