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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, will lead a delegation to Zhoushan from 28 to 29 September, to learn more about the development of the maritime economy in the city, located in Zhejiang Province. The delegation has been invited by the Zhoushan Government. It will visit an urban planning exhibition hall, a petroleum storage facility, and a deep-sea, offshore fish farm during the two-day visit. The visit is part of the Macao Special Administrative Region’s efforts to make use of its unique advantages as part of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” (known also as the “Belt and Road”). They are initiatives of the Central Government. As the last stop on the “Maritime Road”, Macao is assisting in national policy and playing its part in boosting the maritime economy. In line with the Central Government’s initiative, the Macao Government expects to learn this year the position regarding Macao’s jurisdictional role over local waters. This will provide a solid foundation for the development of the coastal economy and contribute to the adequate diversification of the Macao economy. Members of the delegation to Zhoushan will include the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac; the Director-General of the Macao Customs Service, Ms Lai Man Wa; the Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Ms O Lam; the Director of the Marine and Water Bureau, Ms Wong Soi Man; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the President of Administrative Committee of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Cheong Chou Weng; and the Director of Policy Research Office, Mr Lau Pun Lap. While Mr Chui is away, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, will be the Acting Chief Executive.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) launched the 2015 Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making in June in order to promote the development of Macao’s fashion design. Following the initial review, IC herein announces the entrants for the second review. The Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making is now in its third year. This year, a total of 22 applications were received and accepted, of which 45% were from new applicants. Nearly 70% of the applicants have registered their fashion brands as a trademark. IC had invited an adjudicating panel to grade the entries based on their creativity and originality, market potential, quality, overall visual effect, feasibility and degree of perfection of the exhibition and business plan, as well as the rationale of planning and budgeting. The adjudicating panel is comprised of Terry Sio Un I, member of the Committee of Cultural Industries of Macao and Chairman of the Rainbow Group; Victoria Kuan Chi Ping, Senior Manager of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre; Jose Tang Kuan Meng, Vice President of the Industrial Association of Macau; and Johanna Ho, a renowned Hong Kong fashion designer. The entrants selected for the second review are (names listed in no particular order): (individual applications) Tam Chi Kit, Cheang Chi Tat, Leong Iok Pui, Wai Chin Seong, Cheang Man Cheng, Ho Weng I, Leong Man Teng, Siu David, Chio Ut Fu, Peng Yun, Lei Wai Cheng and Leng Carmen; (group applications) Cheong Kuan Peng and Wong Ha, Lo Ka Heng and Choi Wai Leng, Dias Cardoso Ana Claudia and Dias Cardoso Nair Alexandra. IC will inform the entrants listed above of the result by telephone and email. At the current stage, entrants should make a sample based on one of the drawings submitted for the initial review, which will be presented to the adjudicating panel during the second review by a model with full make-up and hair dressing, to bring out the full look. Entrants will be asked to introduce their works and answer questions in an interview with the panel. Following the second review, entrants may apply for a maximum subsidy of MOP11,000 to reimburse the expenses incurred on sample making and presentation. The date and venue for the second review will be announced at a later stage. A maximum of eight finalists will be selected as beneficiaries of the Programme, each receiving a maximum subsidy of MOP160,000. For details, please check the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo/dpicc/sps) or the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). For further enquiries, please call Ms. Grace Lam or Ms. Lily Lam, staff members of IC through tel. (853) 2892 4040 during office hours.
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Data collection for the Pilot Survey of the 2016 Population By-census was successfully concluded on 25 August 2015. The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) held a lucky draw activity in appreciation for the cooperation and support of participating households. Households who completed the Pilot Survey questionnaire have automatically entered into the Cooperating Households Lucky Draw, while those who completed the e-Questionnaire got an extra chance of winning in the E-Questionnaire Lucky Draw. The draws took place on 24 September, officiated by Ieong Meng Chao, Director of DSEC, Cheng I Wan, Deputy Director, and Mak Hang Chan, Department Head. A total of 15 winning households are announced as follows: The First Prize of the Cooperating Households Lucky Draw goes to household reference number 103510187; the Second Prize to 201510466; the Third Prize to 201220504; and 10 Incentive Prizes to 101120371, 101220210, 101410483, 102310235, 103210140, 103510419, 201110268, 201120475, 201210303 and 201520018. The two winning households of the E-Questionnaire Lucky Draw are 101110139 and 201420230. All winning households will be notified by an official letter from DSEC on prize redemption details.
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Co-organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Government, the Museum of Shenzhen, the Guangdong Museum of Revolutionary History and the Memorial Museum of Generalissimo Sun Yat-sen's Mansion, and designed by the Sun Yat-sen Museum in Hong Kong and by the Macao Museum, the opening ceremony of exhibition “Notable Couple – Artefacts from Sun Wan, Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Second Daughter, and her Husband, Tai Ensai” will be inaugurated on Friday, 25 September at the Macao Museum, and the exhibition will run from 26 September to 10 January 2016. The exhibition is centred in Sun Wan, Sun Yat-sen’s second daughter, and her husband, Tai Ensai, revealing aspects of their life as a couple and of Sun Yat-sen’s life, as well as Lu Muzhen’s efforts to raise her daughter Sun Wan. Sun Wan went abroad during her childhood to live with her mother, only meeting her father at the age of 5, during the revolution, later going to study in the USA and settling in Macao after her marriage to Tai Ensai. Tai Ensai studied in the USA and returned to his country to take a job in the government, keeping, during that period, a close relationship with Sun Yat-sen. Following the death of Tai Ensai and Sun Wan, their belongings were scattered around Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao museums. The exhibition shows precious relics belonging to five museums of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, including a Kodak camera belonging to Tai Ensai and a Concise English-Chinese World Dictionary frequently used by Sun Wan. The exhibition will allow visitors to get to know better the life of Sun Yat-sen and his family. This touring exhibition is a project resulting of the cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao museums. It has already been on display in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong and it arrives to the Macao Museum this month. In order to maintain its appeal and interest to the public, the content of the exhibition has differed among the four cities so as to include the characteristics of each museum and their respective collections. In support of the exhibition, the Macao Museum organizes two special lectures: “Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Family Values – Centred on Sun Yat-sen, Lu Muzhen and their Children” and “Sorrow and Joy in the life of Sun Wan, daughter of Dr. Sun Yat-sen”, on 10 October and 14 November, respectively, from 3pm to 5pm, at the Macao Museum Auditorium, both conducted in Mandarin, featuring as speakers Cai Huiyao, Deputy Director of the Museum of Shenzhen, and Sun Xiao, Researcher and Founding Chief Curator of Zhong-Ying Street Historical Museum, respectively. Seats are limited and interested citizens or organizations may contact Mr. Cheong for purposes of reservation of places, through telephone number 8394 1217, or Ms. Shi through telephone number 8394 1234, during office hours. The organization also holds, on 25 October, 22 November and 13 December, from 2pm to 3pm and from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, two daily sessions of the family-oriented workshop “A Bowl Full of Love”, whereby children can design a ‘bowl’ modelled on the displayed items for their family to enrich their visiting experience. For more information, please contact Ms. Sio, staff member of the Macao Museum, through the number 8394 1234, during office hours. On 25 September, in order to prepare for the exhibition’s opening ceremony, the Macao Museum’s ticket counters will close at 4pm. For more information, please call 2835 7911 or visit the website www.macaumuseum.gov.mo.
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Consumer Council conducted its seventh ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 23 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 12 supermarkets in Sé Parish. The latest ‘Supermarket Price Survey’ is now available on Consumer Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ iPhone and Android apps, and on the Council’s WeChat account page. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM’s Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Co-organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Hong Kong Film Development Council and the Administration of Press and Publications, Radio, Film and Television of Guangdong Province, the “2015 Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Film Production Investment and Trade Fair” (“Investment Fair”) will be held on 23 and 24 September, at 4th Fl., Conrad Macao Hotel, at Sands Cotai Central, gathering movie producers and investors from the three regions in Macao, aiming at offering cooperation opportunities in movie projects. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng; Representative and Assistant of the Chief of the Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Shao Bin; Vice-Director of Administration of Press and Publications, Radio, Film and Television of Guangdong Province, Liu Xiaoyi; Head of Create Hong Kong, Jerry, Liu Wing-leung; President of the Administrative Council of the Cultural Industries Fund of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Leong Heng Teng; Vice-president of the Committee for Cultural Industries of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Chui Sai Peng José; Chief of Film Management Office of Administration of Press and Publications, Radio, Film and Television of Guangdong Province, Zeng Guangwang; Assistant Head of Create Hong Kong, Fung Wing; Secretary-General of the Guangdong Motion Picture Industry Association, Zheng Dawei. This edition of the Investment Fair includes 30 movie projects of producers and counts with the presence of over 50 guest investors. The event comprises activities such as project presentation by producers, meetings between producers and investors, networking sessions, etc. (all of which are limited to the participation of invited producers and investors). During the Investment Fair, producers of 10 film projects from each of the three regions will present their work to investors, thereby hoping this initiative allows both sides to meet and creates cooperation opportunities. In order to recognize projects with potential, three awards have been specially designed for the occasion, namely the “Film Project—Grand Award”, the “Film Project—Award of Excellence” and the “Film Project—Award of Merit”, which will be awarded to the three projects with most votes, cast individually by each investor. Furthermore, the Investment Fair also includes a seminar titled “Distribution and Promotion in the New Media Market”, to be held on 24 September, at 5.30pm, in the same venue, and is open to the public. The seminar will be hosted by Fung Wing, Assistant Head of Create Hong Kong, and will have as guest speakers Wong Pui-Tat, head of the Department of Communication Design and Digital Media of the Hong Kong Design Institute, and Zheng Dawei, Secretary-General of the Guangdong Motion Picture Industry Association, who will talk about the future possibilities of development of the movie industry through the new media. Admission is free and seat reservation is available for those interested. For more information, please contact Mr. Leong or Mr. Chong staff of IC, through the no. 2892 4040, during office hours. The “2015 Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Film Production Investment and Trade Fair” was held for the first time last year, also in Macao, aiming at offering a quality platform to facilitate contacts between the region’s producers and investors from the three regions, creating a cooperation and movie investment channel between the regions and focusing on offering support for small and mid-size film production costs on training professionals and on promoting the development of the movie industry in the three regions.
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In recognition to Lew Yuk Lin’s descendant for his donation of family artefacts, president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Ung Vai Meng presented a donation certificate to Lau Ka Meng’s family members on behalf of the Macao Museum under the auspices of IC; in addition, Lau’s name will be included on the ‘Roll of Donors’ of the museum. The Macao Museum has expressed its thanks and appreciation for the valuable donation made by Lau Ka Meng’s family members, Ms. Chan Sio Tim and Ms. Lao Cheng Man. The artefacts donated by the Lau family are now on display in the main hall of the Macao Museum, including significant artefacts such as Lew Yuk Lin’s official photograph, medals and badges from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China Period, and a microscope from the late 19th Century. Since its establishment in 1998, the Macao Museum has placed a ‘Roll of Donors’ in its main hall to acknowledge and thank the individuals and organisations who have made significant donations or contributions to the museum; it is hoped that the ‘Roll of Donors’ can raise public concern for cultural heritage and encourage people in all sectors to support cultural development. The donation activities have been generously supported by many people over more than a dozen years, reflecting that Macao residents attach importance to local culture and history, thus giving impetus to the transmission, conservation and study of local culture. Lew Yuk Lin (1862-1942), a native of Xiangshan, in Guangdong, was part of those included in the fourth batch of students sent to the United States in 1875. He started his diplomatic career in 1886. Following this, he was appointed Consul General of the Qing Dynasty in Singapore and South Africa, imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty in Great Britain, and later Extraordinary Envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of China in Great Britain. He worked in different responsible positions related to foreign affairs during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic. Lew Yuk Lin lived in Macao since 1923 and was officially appointed Chinese representative of the Macao General Assembly during his stay. He died in Macao in 1942.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals totalled 3,033,081 in August 2015, up by 14.5% month-to-month yet down by 1.7% year-on-year. Same-day visitors totalled 1,608,385 (53.0% of total), down by 3.5% year-on-year; overnight visitors rose slightly by 0.4% to 1,424,696. The average length of stay of visitors increased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1.1 days; the average stay of same-day visitors remained unchanged at 0.2 day while that of overnight visitors rose by 0.2 day to 2.1 days. Visitors from Mainland China decreased by 1.7% year-on-year to 2,095,013, with those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme dropping by 1.0% to 1,053,157. Visitors from Mainland China came primarily from Guangdong Province (979,764), Hunan Province (90,429) and Fujian Province (90,260). Visitors from Hong Kong (640,583) and Taiwan (91,378) increased by 0.8% and 3.5% year-on-year respectively, while those from the Republic of Korea (43,710) declined by 24.8%. Long-haul visitors from the United States (12,838), Australia (5,584), the United Kingdom (5,193) and Canada (4,977) showed year-on-year decrease. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land increased by 1.0% year-on-year to 1,718,536; visitors arriving via the Border Gate (1,501,745) decreased slightly by 0.5%, while those arriving via the Checkpoint of Cotai (214,313) rose by 14.1%. Visitor arrivals by sea totalled 1,125,588, a year-on-year decrease of 6.7%, with those arriving via the Outer Habour (666,192) and the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa (427,685) dropping by 7.6% and 1.7% respectively. Moreover, visitor arrivals by air rose by 5.9% year-on-year to 188,957, of which those entering via Macau International Airport rose by 6.2% to 187,973, accounting for 99.5% of the total. In the first eight months of 2015, visitor arrivals totalled 20,438,474, down by 3.2% year-on-year; same-day visitors (11,101,798) and overnight visitors (9,336,676) decreased by 1.8% and 4.9% respectively. Visitors from Mainland China (13,636,972) decreased by 4.1% year-on-year, while those from Hong Kong (4,381,871), Taiwan (650,318) and the Republic of Korea (374,323) rose marginally by 0.6%, 0.5% and 0.2% respectively. Moreover, long-haul visitors from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom recorded year-on-year decrease.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that attributable to the rising number of inbound visitors on package tour and outbound trips by Macao residents, receipts of travel agencies increased by 13.1% year-on-year to MOP 7.16 billion in 2014, of which receipts from Ticket Reservation (MOP 2.24 billion), Package Tours (MOP 1.85 billion) and Room Reservation (MOP 1.55 billion) rose by 7.1%, 18.6% and 18.0% respectively. Receipts from online business (including reservation of rooms and performance tickets) soared by 250% year-on-year, at MOP 91.37 million. A total of 237 travel agencies were operating in 2014, an increase of 26 year-on-year. Number of persons engaged rose by 7.5% year-on-year to 4,187; employees totalled 4,091 (97.7% of total), including 1,225 drivers. Analysed by number of persons engaged, Receipts of large travel agencies with 50 or more persons engaged increased by 23.5% year-on-year to MOP 2.55 billion, of which receipts from Rental of Vehicles at MOP 696 million (27.3% of total), Room Reservation at MOP 609 million (23.9%) and Package Tours at MOP 602 million (23.6%) rose by 12.6%, 55.4% and 6.4% respectively. Receipts of small travel agencies with less than 10 persons were generated primarily from Ticket Reservation (MOP 535 million), down by 2.0% year-on-year, while receipts from Package Tours rose by 13.4% to MOP 299 million. Expenditure of travel agencies amounted to MOP 6.78 billion, up by 11.4% year-on-year. Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid, accounting for 80.6% of the total, increased by 11.8% year-on-year to MOP 5.46 billion, of which expenditure on Ticket Reservation (MOP 2.07 billion), Room Reservation (MOP 1.60 billion) and Package Tours (MOP 1.55 billion) rose by 2.9%, 15.2% and 17.6% respectively. Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid of large travel agencies totalled MOP 1.55 billion (68.4% of total), up by 24.3% year-on-year, while that of small travel agencies dropped by 5.4% to MOP 1.09 billion (88.5% of total). Besides, Operating Expenses (MOP 682 million) and Compensation of Employees (MOP 632 million) increased by 9.1% and 10.3% respectively. In 2014, Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy amounted to MOP 1.01 billion, up by 23.5% year-on-year. Gross Surplus of travel agencies (equals receipts plus change in inventories minus expenditure) rose substantially by 53.9% year-on-year to MOP 381 million. Gross Fixed Capital Formation decreased slightly by 1.0% year-on-year to MOP 238 million.
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After being selected by the authoritative travel guide, “Lonely Planet”, as one of the 10 Best Travel Regions of 2015, Macau is again commended for its promotional efforts in tourism. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is dedicated to promoting Macau with a variety of multi-media and innovative strategies. Its promotional video “Vibrant Moments Experience Macau” was just entitled the “Winner of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition for East Asia and the Pacific” last week. Several of its promotional projects have won different advertising awards including the “Best Media Campaign (Integrated Media) – Bronze Award” and the “Best Media Solution (Radio) – Bronze Award” of the Spark Awards 2015 in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. More than that, Macau Tourism Promotion & Information Center in Portugal was chosen as the “Best International Tourism Office” in the twelfth edition of the Portugal Travel Awards in 2015. “Winner of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition for East Asia and the Pacific” MGTO’s promotional video “Vibrant Moments Experience Macau” was chosen as the “Winner of the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition for East Asia and the Pacific” in the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition held on 16 September during the 21st session of the UNWTO General Assembly. Launched for the first time, the Competition aims to recognize creative works by UNWTO Member States in the field of destination promotion. Over 50 video clips were submitted for the Competition. The judging panel assessed and chose the best promotional video among submitted works for each of the regions including East Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe, Americas, South Asia as well as the Middle East. A total of seven awards were presented in the Competition including the People’s Choice Award, of which the winner was voted by the general public on a poll. “Best Media Campaign (Integrated Media) – Bronze Award” MGTO put on the “Macau – Forever New Experience Campaign” in Hong Kong last year and invited local celebrities Babyjohn Choi and Cherry Ngan to star in a fun travelogue about Macau. The Office also invited experienced travelers and opinion leaders in social media to share about the new attractions they discovered in Macau through videos and articles to boost the destination’s profile. The campaign aimed to bring out Macau’s new dimensions – "Authentic Macau", "New Macau" and "Green Macau". Showing the team’s creativity, the promotional campaign won the “Best Media Campaign (Integrated Media) – Bronze Award” of the Spark Awards 2015 in Hong Kong. The campaign also received another recognition namely "My Favorite Promotional Strategies - Tourism Board" in the U Travel Awards 2014 in Hong Kong. Spark Awards is organized by Marketing Magazine, a publication of Lighthouse Independent Media Pte. Ltd. – an international marketing and advertising company. The mission of the awards is to recognize effective media solutions and innovative marketing strategies from media owners across Hong Kong, South and Southeast Asia, Australia as well as New Zealand. The judging panel consists of senior professionals from international media agencies. “Best Media Solution (Radio) – Bronze Award” MGTO won the “Best Media Solution (Radio) – Bronze Award” of the Spark Awards 2015 with another promotional project in Singapore. In the “Experience Macau” campaign rolled out in Singapore last August and September, the Office partnered with a local radio station to invite lucky audience and DJs to enjoy a vacation in Macau. Their trip experience was shared through social media and live broadcasts on air. Combining the advertising effects of live radio broadcasts, website publicity and social media to promote Macau, the campaign won the “Best Media Solution (Radio) – Bronze Award” in the Spark Awards 2015 in Singapore. The project was also nominated as one of the five finalists in the category of "Best Use of Radio" in one of the most prestigious media awards in Singapore, the Singapore Media Awards 2015. “The Best International Tourism Office” of Portugal Travel Awards 2015 Macau Tourism Promotion & Information Center in Portugal was elected as the “Best International Tourism Office” in the twelfth edition of the Portugal Travel Awards in 2015. Extolled as the “Oscars” in Portuguese tourism industry, the Portugal Travel Awards assessed working performance of tourism offices throughout 2014/2015. The most outstanding office was then chosen by members and subscribers of the local travel magazine “Publituris” as well as a panel of twenty judges who are famous personages from the tourism industry across Portugal. MGTO will keep riding on new media and adopting various innovative promotional strategies to attract visitors to Macau, in accord with trends and performance of different visitor markets.
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