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The 16th Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) will be held at IFT from 13-16 July, 2010. The Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) is an internationally acclaimed association in the field of tourism comprised of 17 Asia Pacific countries and regions. The purpose of APTA is to further facilitate quality tourism research especially in the Asia-Pacific area, to share research achievements and to exchange ideas between academics and their counterparts in the business world. A conference is held annually and a journal is published quarter-annually and its quality research papers are distributed all over the world. IFT, being a Macao representative of APTA, is proud to bring the annual meeting to Macao as one of our 15th Anniversary celebration series this year. Macao, being one of the fastest developing and most exciting tourism destinations in Asia, transforms herself into a modem, vibrant and cosmopolitan city that boasts the latest world-class attractions in gaming and entertainment. The conference themed “Competition and Collaboration between Regional Tourism Destinations” attracted hospitality scholars, researchers, practitioners and trade members of the region to submit and present their papers in Macao. The opening ceremony of the conference was hosted by Dr. Sang Taek Lim, Chairman of APTA and Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT. Two hundred and twenty delegates from Australia, Canada, Mainland China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Chinese Taiwan, Thailand, and United States were invited to attend this conference. There are also representatives from Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR. Aiming to create a platform and opportunity to exchange the latest developments, trends, and research in the area of competition and collaboration between regional tourism destination, ideas are shared, discussed, and debated in the conference. Papers of both applied and conceptual orientation are presented on the following topics, along with other relevant concerns: - Destination Management
- Restaurant Management
- Hotel Marketing/Management
- Travelers’ Behaviour
- IT and Tourism
- Forecasting
- Hospitality Management
- Human Resources Management
- Community-Based Tourism
- Sustainable Tourism
- Casino Management
- Tourism Policy/Planning
- Brand Equity/Branding
- Financing/Accounting
- Event Management
- Tourism Industry
- Hospitality Education
- Tourism Trends Speakers include: - Prof. Kaye Chon
Chair Professor of Hotel and Tourism Management and Director of School, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Dr. Dai Bin
Vice Director, China Tourism Academy - Dra. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes
(Deputy Director) representing the Director, Macau Government Tourist Office - Mr. Kwon Ping Ho
Executive Chairman, Banyan Tree Holdings - Dr. Sang Taek Lim
Chairman, Asia Pacific Tourism Association - Dr. Fanny Vong
President, Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours surged by 132.9% year-on-year to 569,803 in May 2010, as visitors in package tours for May last year was adversely affected by the human swine influenza pandemic. Visitors from Mainland China (422,204); Japan (22,645); Taiwan, China (21,293); and Hong Kong (20,368) rose substantially by 168.0%, 85.9%, 38.1% and 14.5% respectively, and those from the Republic of Korea (14,714) and India (11,375) also registered notable increase. In the first five months of 2010, visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 23.2% year-on-year to 2,575,916. In May 2010, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours increased by 43.6% year-on-year to 19,101, with Mainland China (78.0% of total); Japan (6.1%); and Taiwan, China (4.2%) being the most popular tour itineraries. In the first five months of 2010, residents travelling in package tours totalled 88,575, up by 11.4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies rose slightly by 0.7% year-on-year to 36,948 and the main destinations were Mainland China (34.9% of total); Hong Kong (32.9%); and Taiwan, China (18.4%). In the first five months of 2010, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements went up by 6.8% year-on-year to 174,312. At the end of May 2010, total number of available guest rooms of the hotel sector increased by 2,001 (+11.4%) year-on-year to 19,573 rooms. A total of 650,849 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in May 2010, up notably by 46.3% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (51.9% of total) and Hong Kong (19.4%). The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses soared substantially by 18.6 percentage points year-on-year to 77.9%; average occupancy rate of hotels reached 78.6%, with 3-star hotels leading at 81.2%. The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.02 night to 1.5 nights. The cumulative number of guests reached 3,197,610 in the first five months of 2010, up by 20.3% over the same period of 2009. In the first five months of 2010, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 60.8% of the total number of tourists, down from 61.7% in the same period of 2009.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today continued his visit in Sichuan, to learn more about the earthquake relief projects supported by Macao. In Guangyuan, a city struck by earthquakes in 2008, Mr Chui and his delegation inspected several reconstruction projects and listened to briefings on the progress of their construction. These projects were namely a mental health centre, a bridge, a sport centre and a house for the elderly. They left Guangyuan for Lizhou in the afternoon and visited a village with reconstructed accommodation financed by Macao. Mr Chui visited two families and told them that he was glad to learn that the lives of Sichuan people had returned to normal. He said the people of Macao were supportive of the relief projects and extended the well wishes of Macao people on their behalf. At a reconstructed middle school, Mr Chui chatted with students and encouraged them to work hard. He had visited the site of the school two years ago, and he said that he was happy to see the newly constructed structure. Mr Chui and his delegation will visit Beichuan County tomorrow and attend a working meeting with senior officials of the province in Chengdu to discuss the progress of the earthquake relief projects.
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IFT is offering a “Western Culinary Arts Practicum Programme”, in cooperation with the local industry, to train professionals in the area of food production. An agreement signing ceremony and press conference was held on 12 July at IFT with 11 participating partner hotels to mark this meaningful collaboration. The programme is set up to answer the need for young chefs from the local industry, hence its special emphasis on practical training. It is a contribution to the local hospitality industry by creating qualified personnel and an invitation to those who are interested in acquiring the art, skill and refinement for this commendable profession. The concept of this programme is for IFT to provide theoretical knowledge while working with well-established local hotels for practicum opportunity, where students apply the theories in hands-on practical training environment. Our industry partners include: Altira Macau, City of Dreams, Four Seasons Hotel, Grand Lapa Macau, Grand Hyatt Macau, Grand Lisboa Hotel, Hotel Lisboa, MGM GRAND Macau, Sands Macao Hotel, The Westin Resort Macau and Wynn Macau. This free programme is carried out 6 days a week (1 day at IFT and 5 days at hotels), and lasts for 18 months, during which participating hotels will be paying a monthly allowance of not less than MOP4,000 to the students. Programme contents include general courses (such as language, computer studies, nutrition, food hygiene, purchasing and cost control, hospitality and food industry, restaurant service and customer care) which take place at IFT, while gastronomy knowledge as well as practicum are mainly at hotels. Upon completion of the programme, students will receive a certificate issued by IFT and a skills certificate issued under Macao Occupational skills Recognition System (MORS). It is hoped that by creating qualified manpower and bringing in the right talents to the hospitality industry, that IFT’s new training programme is able to meet local demand for culinary professionals.
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The distribution overview of the Wealth Partaking Scheme 2010 is as following,: 1. Beneficiaries
1. Holders of valid or renewable Macau SAR Resident Identity Card Holders on 31 December 2009 are entitled to receive the cash premium. Every Macau SAR Permanent and Non-Permanent Resident Identity Cards will be granted 6,000.00 patacas and 3,600.00 patacas respectively.
2. Pursuant to Article 3 (2) of Law No.8/2002 regarding the circumstances of non-compulsory acquisition of resident identity card, persons below the age of 5 on 31 December 2009, will be granted the cash premium upon the obtainment of the abovementioned identification document.
3. Holders of valid or renewable Macao SAR Resident Identity Card who are currently residing abroad will be granted the cash premium, provided that they can prove that they are unable to renew their Macao SAR Resident Identity Card due to the reason of bedridden, completely or partly paralyzed. For those who have submitted the documentary proof and were granted the cash premium in the previous year, the Social Welfare Bureau is authorized to exempt them from documents resubmission if it is concluded that no new evidence is needed for the approval of current Scheme after analyzing the exiting documents. 2. Modes of distribution
1. Bank transfer
The following individuals will have the cash premium disbursed by means of bank transfer:
- Persons receiving financial assistance or subsidy for senior citizens from the Social Welfare Bureau;
- Teaching staff receiving direct subsidy as well as students in tertiary education receiving student aid from the Student Benefits Fund of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau;
- Retired civil servants receiving retirement pension and other persons receiving aforesaid pension for the family of the deceased;
- Civil servants. 2. Crossed cheque mailing
The rest qualified for being awarded the cash premium will receive the crossed cheque via mail by the Identification Services Bureau. details are as follows:
- Beneficiaries aged 18 or above will each receive a cheque made payable to the beneficiary;
- Minor beneficiaries (under the age of 18) will each receive a cheque made payable to the beneficiary, his/her father, and his/her mother, which may be deposited either into the beneficiary’s account, his/her father’s account, or his/her mother’s account. The crossed cheque will be sent via surface mail so as to enable the beneficiaries to get the cheque in the simplest way. On the other hand, as it is a crossed cheque, it can only be deposited into the payee’s account, in this way, even if one gets the cheque of others, in no way the cheque can be cashed. 3. Special circumstances
The Social Welfare Bureau shall be responsible for the distribution of cash premium to the following persons: persons stated in above 1 (3), minors whose guardianship has not been established, incompetent persons, and persons deprived of their liberty by rehabilitative measures or subjected to criminal punishment. 3. 2010 Wealth Partaking Scheme Schedule for Distribution
(Please find the attached file.) 4. Address change for mailing purpose
The address of holders of Macau Resident Identity Card in the database of the Identification Services Bureau is the one declared by the resident during his/her replacement for the Macau SAR Resident Identity Card. To ensure that the residents can receive in time their cheque, from 29 March 2010, those who have moved their residence can change their address information in the following ways:
- Prior to changing the address, the resident has to provide data for verification by entering his/her identity card number, his/her birth date and his/her mother’s name (as the names of father and mother are not shown on the identity card), at the Identification Services Bureau website (www.dsi.gov.mo); - Return directly the declaration for change of address to the Identification Services Bureau. 5. Establishment of Support Centre for Wealth Partaking Disbursement
With an effort to cope with the implementation of the Scheme, the Support Centre for Wealth Partaking Disbursement was set up. The Centre is equipped with staff and a hotline to handle and entertain enquiries related to the Scheme, as well as to help solving other problems. The Centre will be opened on 13 July 2010 which is located in Avenida da Praia Grande, n.º 762-804, Edifício China Plaza, Opens on Mondays to Firdays (except public holidays), from 9:00 to 18:00 straight. The service hotline and facsimile are 2822 5000 and 2822 3000. The official website of Wealth Partaking Scheme http://www.planocp.gov.mo also provides the most up-to-dated information.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, arrived in Sichuan today on a four-day visit to learn more about the earthquake relief projects supported by Macao. Mr Chui told the press at the airport before his departure that he would also hold a meeting with leading officials of the province to follow up on the reconstruction projects supported by Macao, as well as a tourism co-operation project. Macao had earmarked 5.5 billion patacas for reconstruction projects after the province was struck by earthquakes in 2008. Mr Chui re-iterated that these projects should be completed by the end of next year, as requested by the State Council. Soon after his arrival, Mr Chui and his delegation visited Mianyang and inspected a middle school and a hospital which reconstruction was financed by Macao.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, is scheduled to leave for Sichuan Province on Sunday to view the progress on the earthquake reconstruction projects funded by Macao. Mr Chui and his delegation will visit Mianyang, Guangyuan and Beichuan County in the province to see the latest on the projects in these areas. During his four-day visit, Mr Chui will also meet the leading officials of the province and hold meetings regarding reconstruction schemes. Members of the delegation include the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U; the Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Tam Chon Weng; the Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms Cheung So Mui; the Secretary-General of the Executive Council and Advisor of the Office of the Chief Executive, Ms O Lam; the Director of Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of Health Bureau, Mr Lei Chin Ion; the Director of Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Mr Sou Chio Fai; the Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, Mr João Manuel Costa Antunes; the Director of Social Welfare Bureau, Mr Ip Peng Kin; the Director of Macao Sport Development Board, Mr Vong Iao Lek, and the Director of Macao Economic Services, Mr Sou Tim Peng. The Director of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the MSAR, Mr Bai Zhijian, is a specially invited member of the delegation. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Chui is away.
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Macao Franchise Expo 2010 (2010 MFE) "Forum on International Franchise Business Opportunities" and other activities is held on 8th July in Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. It’s believed that this forum enhances the communication and cooperation of franchising business between Mainland China, Overseas and other districts and Macao, encourages brands come to Macao, and explores new markets via Macao, this superior business platform. Forum on International Franchise Business Opportunities will be held after the Grand Opening of 2010 MFE, which organized by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Brazilian Franchise Association, Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan, Licensing and Franchising Association of Hong Kong, Macao International Brand Enterprise Commercial Association and Macau Chain Stores and Franchise Association. It’s honored that celebrities will address speeches in the forum, including Vice President of U.S. & International Development, International Franchise Association (IFA), Mr. Hsu Hsiang-hung, Chairman of Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan, Ms. Susan Su, Director of Franchise & Entrepreneur Department, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, and Mr. Kimiharu Nishino, Chairman of Franchise Committee in Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultants Association - Tokyo branch. Mr. Scott Lehr introduced the current development as well as the expectations of franchise market in America, moreover he shared the strategy of Multi-Brand in the International franchise market; Ms. Susan Su made a speech about the status of Chinese franchise market, specifically about the current situation, corresponding policy and regulations and the development of oversea franchise brand; Mr. Hsu Hsiang-hung made the future trend of international franchise as the topic of speech, he pointed out that Cross-Straits market create more business opportunities. Mr. Kimiharu Nishino, in terms of professional of Japan, elaborated the international franchise strategy of Japanese enterprises along with the trends and characters of business pattern. Besides, Mr. Tong Kai Chung, Secretary General of Macau Chain Stores and Franchise Association moderates the panel discussions of 2010 MFE. Local and overseas chain store operators, senior managers, and professionals exchange and share their franchising business opinions and experiences, including Mr. Yu Cheng Lung, Deputy Chairman of Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan, Mr. Sam Siew Pak Kheong, Chairman of National & International Relation Sub-Committee, Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA), Mr. Wilson Lee, President of Licensing & Franchising Association of Hong Kong, Mr. Ho Kam Meng, Supervisor General of Macau Chain Stores and Franchise Association, Mr. Toby Chan, Managing Director of Regent Lane Ltd and Mr. Sérgio Marques, Managing Director of Parfois – Barata & Ramilo, S.A.
There are around 100 participants of International franchising senior managers, experts, professionals, business representatives in Forum on International Franchise Business Opportunities, covers USA, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. This forum promotes the business communication and cooperation between enterprises and assists local companies to explore via franchising.
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Macao Franchise Expo 2010 (2010 MFE) has been held commenced at Macao Tower Convention and Entertainment Center on 8th July. The officiating guests of honor Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao SAR and other officiating guests host the simple and grand opening lighting ceremony at 11a.m. The guests hold the golden ribbon which symbolizes chain operators, with “2010 MFE” marked on the colorful ceremony lighting pillar, a golden flashing ribbon has been exhibited. It implies that Macau Franchise and chain operators have gone a step further connecting with each other and explore the market under the support of Macao government. It also matches with the theme “Brand expansion continues… Business opportunities to be seized”. This has made a prologue for 2010MFE for consecutive 3 days. Apart from Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao SAR, the other officiating guests include Mr. Lu Shumin, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in Macao S.A.R., Mr. Zhou Zhi Kui, Director General of Economic Affairs Department of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Mr. Hoi Sai Un, President of Macao Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Tai Kin Ip, Deputy Director of Macao Economic Services, Ms. Susan Su, Director of Franchise & Entrepreneur Department, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, Mr. Scott Lehr, Vice President of U.S. & International Development, International Franchise Association (IFA), Mr. Hsu Hsiang-hung, Chairman of Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan, Mr. Wilson Lee, President of Licensing & Franchising Association of Hong Kong, Ms. Terry Sio, President of Macao International Brand, and Mr. Jaman Wong, Chairman of Macau Chain Stores and Franchise Association. In the opening ceremony, Mr. Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute has stated on his speech that the theme of this year’s MFE is “Brand Expansion Continues…Business Opportunities to be Seized”, it is a much larger operation with more varied contents. The number of participating exhibitors, exhibition booths and total area has increased by 60%, 140% and 100% respectively. The 123 participating enterprises come from Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, the Mainland, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan and the US, involving sectors including food and beverage, retail, marketing planning as well as education. Currently, the number of co-operation projects collected by the organizer has increased by 40% when compared to the previous year and the arranged business-matching sessions have been made to assist investors, franchisors and exhibitors to identify targeted business partners and also take the opportunity to conduct direct negotiations. The organizer has also invited leaders of business associations from various industries and senior management of internationally renowned brands to share the reasons for their success and conduct interactive exchanges during the Forum on International Franchise Business Opportunities. In additional, before the opening ceremony, the officiating guests, Mr. Francis Tam, Secretary for Economy and Finance of Macao SAR and Mr. Lu Shumin, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in Macao S.A.R have accompanied with Mr.. Jackson Chang, President of IPIM, Ms. Echo Chan and Mrs. Irene Lau, Executive Directors of IPIM, the organizers and co-organizers to do the site inspection. The guests firstly go up to the 4th floor of Macao Franchise and Chain Section to taste the Taiwanese drinks, experience delicious food and atmosphere. After then they visited the professional seminars of the site, MFE squares and the most attractive section of this MFE, the premium booth area to experience the gorgeous design and display from different premium booths, and also communicate and exchange with the people in charge of the booths in order to learn about their comments towards MFE and franchise business. Later on they went to the 2nd Floor and visited the booths from Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan exhibitors. 2010 MFE is organized by Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Brazilian Franchise Association, Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion, Taiwan, Macao International Brand Enterprise Commercial Association, Macau Chain Stores and Franchise Association and Licensing and Franchising Association, International Franchise Association and Japan Association, and coordinated by the Association of Advertising Agents of Macao. After the opening of 2010 MFE, there will be all together 3 consecutive days for exhibitions, it cooperates with the business matching activities, including Forum on International Franchise Business Opportunities, business matching, professional seminars and presentations etc. The first day of the exhibition is for registered professional visitors, 9th to 10th July opens to the public, everyone is welcome to participate and admission is free. Should you have any enquiry, please contact the MFE Secretariat at Tel: 6212 8811 or refer to our website: www.mfe.mo .
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According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, on a monthly basis, money supply M2 decreased slightly in May. As deposits with banks dropped and loans witnessed an increase, the loan-to-deposit ratio rose from a month earlier. Money supply
Currency in circulation decreased 0.5% whereas demand deposits climbed 6.8%. M1 thus rose 5.7% compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, quasi-monetary liabilities dropped 1.4%. The sum of these two items, i.e. M2, edged down 0.3% to MOP216.1 billion. On an annual basis, M1 and M2 rose 27.2% and 7.1% respectively. The share of Pataca (MOP) in M2 stood at 27.7%, down marginally by 0.1 percentage point over a month ago or 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Concurrently, the share of Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) in M2 was 54.2%, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month but up 0.5 percentage points year-on-year. Deposits
Resident deposits dropped 0.3% from the previous month to MOP211.1 billion. Of which, MOP deposits and HKD deposits declined at respective rates of 0.8% and 1.1% while other foreign currency deposits grew 2.8%. Concurrently, non-resident deposits decreased by 2.7% to MOP71.3 billion while public sector deposits with the banking sector rose 4.1% to MOP15.5 billion. As a result, total deposits with the banking sector dropped 0.7% from the previous month to MOP297.9 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 22.2% and 46.8% respectively. Loans
Domestic loans to the private sector expanded 2.0% in May to MOP108.4 billion. Among which, MOP33.0 billion was MOP-denominated and MOP67.9 billion was denominated in HKD, representing 30.5% and 62.6% of the total respectively. Meanwhile, external loans grew 1.2% to MOP109.3 billion; of which, loans denominated in MOP and HKD accounted for 0.8% (MOP0.9 billion) and 40.3% (MOP44.1 billion) of the total respectively. Loan-to-deposit ratios
Due to the decline in resident deposits and increase in domestic loans to the private sector, the loan-to deposit ratio for the resident sector grew 1.0 percentage point in a month to 47.8% at end-May 2010. The ratio for both the resident and non-resident sectors was 73.1%, up 1.7 percentage points.
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