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PATA Predicts 10.6% Annual Growth in Asia Pacific Arrivals to 2007
MACAU SAR, CHINA (PRC), April 18, 2005 – The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)'s Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC) released ‘Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007’ today at the 54th PATA Annual Conference in Macau. This new series of forecasts for 40 countries across the Asia Pacific region predicts overall growth in international visitor arrivals of 10.6% per year to 2007. Every destination covered in the PATA region is predicted to post positive annual growth to 2007, ranging from 4.0% (Pakistan) to 20.9% (Malaysia). A summary of ‘Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007’ is available for download at www.PATA.org/forecasts05. There are numerous factors influencing the forecasts: the recovery following the tsunami, the emergence of low-cost airlines, the rapidly rising middle-classes across Asia, and significant advances in avionics leading to new generation aircraft that will change how we move around the world. “Combined, these factors look set to dramatically increase intra-regional travel flows,” said PATA Director-SIC Mr John Koldowski. “Whatever the changes we expect -- and those we don't -- the travel industry needs an anchor, a meticulously researched set of predictions on which to plan future strategies.” ‘Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2005-2007’, produced by the eminent scholars Professor Lindsay Turner and Professor Stephen Witt, provide that anchor in an increasingly turbulent world. “You will find these forecasts an indispensable reference as you chart your own course to the year 2007 and beyond,” said PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong. Purchasers of last year's book, ‘Pacific Asia Tourism Forecasts 2004-2006’, are entitled to a 30% discount. Contact publications@PATA.org.
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PATA AWARDS TOURISM INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) presented 30 plaques to winners in the 2005 PATA Gold Awards programme at the 54th PATA Annual Conference today. Twenty-eight Gold Awards were handed out during the 2005 PATA Gold Awards Luncheon hosted by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO). Earlier, during the opening session of the Conference, two PATA Grand Awards were presented for best-of-show entries submitted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Banyan Tree Holdings. The 2005 PATA Grand Award for Heritage was presented to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for its Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project. The Ministry gained the trust of the community and local authorities to effectively conserve, restore and promote the UNESCO World Heritage site as a high-quality tourist destination. The Grand Award for Marketing went to Banyan Tree Holdings for Banyan Tree Spa Bintan’s multilingual marketing communications and public relations campaign, which pushed a consistent message and scored highly across all judging criteria. The campaign launched toward the end of 2003, and in the first half of 2004 revenue growth was up 50%; impressive results for a marketing budget of only US$5,000. In addition to the two Grand Awards, 28 PATA Gold Awards were presented to the winners listed in full below. Multiple Gold Awards went to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Banyan Tree Holdings, the Korea National Tourism Organization, the Palau Visitors Authority and Tourism Australia. The winning campaigns were selected from over 312 Gold Award entries by panels of international experts in each category. The awards were open to PATA and PATA chapter members, with the exception of the journalism awards, which were open to all published writers and photographers. The PATA Gold Awards were generously sponsored by the Macau Government Tourist Office, which has been supporting the programme for a decade. ### 2005 PATA GRAND AND GOLD AWARD WINNERS GRAND AWARDS 1. Marketing
Banyan Tree Spa Bintan
Banyan Tree Holdings 2. Heritage
Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
GOLD AWARDS MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
3. Government/Destination – National
Tourism Marketing with “Korean Wave”
Korea National Tourism Organization 4. Government/Destination -- State/City Tourism Tasmania’s Short Breaks Campaign
Tourism Tasmania, Australia 5. Carrier (International-Air) Singapore Airlines Boarding Pass Privileges Programme Singapore Airlines, Singapore 6. Carrier (Domestic-Air)
From Service Turnaround to Perception Turnaround Indian Airlines, India 7. Industry -- Hotel
Banyan Tree Bintan
Banyan Tree Holdings 8. Industry -- Tour Operator/Travel Agent
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd Thomas Cook (India) Ltd 9. Industry -- Spa
Angsana Spa Double Bay Sydney
Banyan Tree Holdings ENVIRONMENT
10. Ecotourism/Travel-Related
Karang Lestari, Pemuteran
Taman Sari Eco Cottages
PATA Bali & Nusa Tenggara Chapter, Indonesia
Taman Sari Eco Cottages and PATA Bali & Nusa Tenggara Chapter, Indonesia 11. Corporate Environmental
Welcomenviron ITC Hotels, India 12. Environmental Education Programme Palau Shark Sanctuary Fund
Palau Visitors Authority, Palau HERITAGE & CULTURE
13. Culture
Ngarachamayong Cultural Center
Palau Visitors Authority, Palau EDUCATION & TRAINING
14. Educational Programme
A Taxi Service Through the Community: Lighthouse Hotel and Spa Jetwing Hotels, Sri Lanka 15. Education & Training Publications
The Travel Institute's Destination Specialist Mexico
The Travel Institute, USA MULTIMEDIA & JOURNALISM
16. Consumer Travel Brochure
India Quest, Premium Vacations SITA, India 17. Print Media Advertisement
Incredible- Taj
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India 18. Electronic/Broadcast Media Advertisement
A Different Light Tourism Australia, Australia 19. Travel Poster Korea, Where Old Meets New Korea National Tourism Organization 20. Destination Article -- Newspaper
Vietnam Revs Up Here
Mr Rob McKeown
Boston Globe, USA 21. Destination Article -- Magazine
The Yangtze: Now and Then
Nancy Bear
Discovery, Emphasis Media, Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Airways 22. Industry Business Article -- Trade Publications Who Wins?
Mr Steven Shellum
Hotel Asia Pacific, Hong Kong 23. Industry Business Article -- Consumer Publications Domestic Tourism the Next Big Wave
Mrs Kamal Gill
Today’s Traveller, India 24. Travel Photograph
Straight to the Top Mr Matthieu Paley
Sawasdee, Inflight Magazine of Thai Airways International
Emphasis Media, Hong Kong 25. Travel Guidebook
East Timor
Lonely Planet, Australia
Mr Tony Wheeler 26. Travel Video Award
Four Hong Kong Experiences Hong Kong Tourism Board 27. Public Relations Campaign
Brand Australia Relaunch Tourism Australia 28. CD-ROM
Discover the World's Newest Nation
Turismo de Timor-Leste 29. Web Site
JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa Personal Vacation Planner JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Thailand 30. E-Newsletter
Kerala Tourism Newsletter Kerala Tourism, India HONOURABLE MENTION Heritage & Culture – Culture
A Day with the Masters
Kerala Tourism, India
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54th PATA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OPENS IN MACAU
MACAU SAR, CHINA (PRC), April 18, 2005 – The 54th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference officially opened this morning with H.E. Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region, welcoming 1,176 delegates from 44 countries to Macau. “We foresee a strong and solid growth in the tourism industry as well as the vast opportunities to be provided,” said Mr Ho. “We also have no illusions on the challenges ahead of us.” He added: “As you are fully aware, many of these challenges are not unique but rather universal shared by many our partners in this region. We value our participation in PATA and we firmly believe that we all will become stronger and better through our closer partnership and cooperation.” Mr Ho’s speech was preceded by messages from Macau SAR Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Dr Chui Sai On, 2004/2005 PATA Chairman Mr Ram Kohli and PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong. Dr Chui said: “Throughout its membership of PATA, Macau has maintained a close relationship with the Association. And today, it carries special and important implications to Macau as the host, for the first time, of the PATA Annual Conference.” He added: “PATA has always been active in the enhancement of growth, value and quality of travel and tourism for its members within the Asia Pacific region. Four PATA Task Force reports on Macau were written over the past 25 years, giving us constructive ideas as well as visions, in the development of the tourism industry.” Mr Kohli praised Macau’s determination to expand its destination image to encompass its rich and unique culture and heritage and thanked Mr Ho, Dr Chui, Mr Antunes and the Macau Host Committee, a collaboration of private- and public-sector tourism stakeholders in Macau, for making the Conference possible. During the PATA Presidential Address, Mr de Jong asked delegates to stand for one minute of silence in remembrance of the more than 170,000 people killed and some 100,000 people still missing and feared dead as a result of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean quake and tsunami. Mr de Jong said: “Two years ago, as we recognised the external threats to our industry, we expanded PATA’s strategic agenda to include a strong focus on advocacy and reputation management. It was the right call. Sadder but wiser from our recent years’ experience dealing with the Bali bombing, with SARS, with Avian Flu, and our successful Phoenix recovery campaign, PATA is now, more than ever, ready to respond rapidly to crises that threaten our region.” Mr de Jong went on to outline the Association’s rapid and authoritative response to the December 26 quake and tsunami tragedy. He said: “Our response to the tsunami, when viewed in total, is part and parcel of PATA’s transformation into an agile, knowledge-based and advocacy-embracing travel trade association.” Following a colourful Macanese cultural performance, International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Mr Giovanni Bisignani delivered the opening keynote address on the Conference theme “Connecting Tourism’s Stakeholders”. “Globally, tourism is responsible for 5% of GDP. In PATA countries, tourism directly accounts for up to 50% of GDP,” said Mr Bisignani. “If one link in the value chain is weak or broken, everybody suffers. This has been the lesson of Asia Pacific’s recent crises.” He added: ”Everyone in this room has felt their impact. In a global world of instant news, coordinated action is critical.” Toward the end of the opening session, PATA recognised leading travel industry individuals and organisations with assorted awards, including the “Father of the Boeing 747” Mr Joseph F Sutter, who was inducted into the PATA Gallery of Legends. In addition, Mr Joao Manuel Costa Antunes and Mr Bo W Long both received PATA Life Membership honours for their contributions to PATA’s work over many years. Two 2005 PATA Grand Award winners – the best of the 2005 PATA Gold Awards programme – also received their awards: the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for its Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Tourism Development Project and Banyan Tree Holdings for its Banyan Tree Spa Bintan. Last night (April 17), the Macau Host Committee, comprising representatives of the SAR’s public- and private-sector tourism stakeholders, hosted a spectacular reception at the Taipa Houses-Museum. For the next three days, Conference delegates will hear from experts on strategic travel industry topics, such as changes in the aviation sector’s competitive environment; poverty alleviation through tourism; the industry’s sustainability; the relationship between tourism and the arts; and China (PRC)’s rise as a tourism destination and source market. 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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Results of the Package Tours and Hotel Occupancy Rate / February 2005
Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that in view of the Chinese New Year holiday fell in February 2005, number of visitors arrived in Macao in package tours totalled 194,322, up 59.6% over February 2004. Visitors from Mainland China (147,384) had a year-on-year growth of 46.5% while visitors from Taiwan,China (20,743) and Hong Kong (8,867) increased 153.6% and 16.4%. In the first two months of 2005, visitors arrived in Macao in package tours grew 35.7% over the same period of 2004 to 380,767. Under the effect of the Chinese New Year holiday, number of Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 22,393 in February, a remarkable year-on-year increase of 260%. Mainland China, the Republic of Korea and Thailand were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 84.2%, 3.1% and 2.8% of the total respectively. In the first two months, number of Macao residents travelling in package tours went up 57.2% compared with the same period of 2004. Meanwhile, 22,431 Macao residents travelled under own arrangements with the assistance of travel agencies, an increase of 14.8% over February 2004; Mainland China (40.1%), Hong Kong (23.2%) and Taiwan, China (17.6%) were the major destinations. In the first two months, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements fell 16.0% compared with the same period of 2004. At the end of February 2005, there were 10,181 rooms available in hotels and similar establishments, a year-on-year growth of 10.6% due to the openings of 5 more hotels over the same month of 2004. In February 2005, a total of 288,249 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, up 8.9% over February 2004. The average hotel occupancy rate was 65.4%, a year-on-year increase of 0.9 percentage point; the highest average was in 3-star hotels, at 70.5%. The average length of stay of hotel guests was 1.16 nights, which fell 0.01 night over February 2004. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (56.6%), Hong Kong (28.9%) and Taiwan, China (3.4%). In the first two months of 2005, there were 590,680 hotel guests, up 6.1% over 2004. In the first two months of 2005, hotel guests accounted for 39.8% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 43.2% in the same period of 2004.
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Crime Investigation Units meet in Guangdong
Heads of crime investigation units from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao are holding their 10th working meeting in Guangdong where they will exchange views and experience on combating crime and discuss security issues. The three-day meeting started today. The Assistant Commissioner General of Unitary Police Service, Cheang Seng Chio is leading the Macao delegation comprising more than 10 police officials from Macao. The Commissioner General of Unitary Police Service of the Macao SAR, Mr José Proença Branco, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong, Mr Tang King-shing and the Deputy Director of Guangdong Public Security Department, Mr Zheng Dong, will also attend the meeting. The heads of crime investigation units will review and discuss the past security issues and look for ways to establish more channels to exchange information on combating crime across the boundaries. These include how to combat fake websites, illegal betting and loan sharking.
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Government amends requirements for investment residency
The Macao SAR Government has revised the requirements for applying for investment residency, said Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, after he had discussed the new by-law with members of the Executive Council. The original regulations, which had been in force since 1st April 1995, allowed investors of fixed assets, significant investment projects and professionals, to apply for temporary residency in Macao. The new regulation, the 3/2005 by-law, enhanced the requirements for applicants who invested fixed assets in Macao for residency. It will come into effect on 4th April 2005. Mr Tam said the amendments could accommodate the current real estate market and economic development. The original regulations had required applicants in this category to buy fixed assets in Macao that cost not less than one million patacas. Under the new requirements, applicants should also have a fixed deposit of not less than five hundred thousand patacas in Macao's credit institutions. Moreover, applicants should have achieved tertiary or higher education. For applicants who had only finished senior high school or equivalent education, they should meet one of the following requirements:
1.With lineal relative by blood or collateral relative by blood within three generations who have acquired permanent residence in Macao;
2.With not less than 2 years experience of running a business or working as a high-ranking managerial professional in a company;
3.As the owner or co-owner of a Macao company. Meanwhile, the new by-law excludes applicants' parents from obtaining temporary residency. For retired applicants, the new regulation increased the amount of investment from five hundred thousand to one million patacas. The new regulation would not affect the following applications:
1.Applications received by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institution before the announcement of the new regulation;
2.Renewal of residency of those who had already obtained, as well as the residential applications of their family members.
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54th PATA Annual Conference – Macau Host Committee General Meeting
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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Results of the External Trade Statistics / February 2005
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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Results of the Tourism Statistics 2004
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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