News

On 15 September, Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) and Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong mutually entered into a formal cooperation agreement. President of IFT, Dr. Fanny Vong, and Dean of Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Prof. Chris Webster, signed this agreement at IFT. The University of Hong Kong is a renowned higher educational institute with a long history, while its Faculty of Architecture offers programmes in architecture, conservation, etc. Through this cooperation, IFT hopes to promote academic exchange, student exchange and other forms of institutional interaction between the Division of Architectural Conservation Programmes, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, and IFT’s Bachelor of Science in Heritage Management Programme. IFT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and this event is one of the celebratory events. Meanwhile, IFT’s Heritage Management bachelor degree programme marks its 10th years of establishment this year. Thus, it is believed that this cooperation with Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong will further enrich the knowledge and learning experience for students of the programme. In addition to provide high quality of tourism education, IFT has been expanding its global network of cooperation, in order to enhance its level of internationalisation. Currently, IFT maintains close partnership and cooperation with 85 institutions and tourism organisations from 27 countries and regions. This enables IFT students to opt for exchange programmes abroad for one semester as well as overseas internship programmes for six months for widening their horizons. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 85 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has the most bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau and Albergue SCM jointly organized two exhibitions entitled ‘The Journey of a Master: Júlio Pomar and Friends’, which showcased works by renowned Portuguese master Júlio Pomar. One of the exhibition, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and co-organized by Albergue SCM and Gallery 57, with the support of the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong, was held at Tap Seac Gallery and was inaugurated on 15 September (Tuesday) at 6:30pm. The other exhibition, organized by Albergue SCM and co-organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Galeria 57, with the sponsorship of the Macao Foundation, will be inaugurated on 18 September (Friday) at 6:30pm. Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1926, Júlio Pomar is one of the greatest Portuguese artists of the twentieth century. His work features a wide variety of styles, which include design, printmaking, sculpture, illustrations, ceramics, tapestries, theatre design, as well as essays and poetry about painting, all of which strongly demonstrate Pomar’s talents and his tireless effort in pursuing and exploring the arts. The exhibition at Tap Seac Gallery, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, showcased the different phases of Pomar’s artistic career. Thirty-one works by Pomar and his contemporaries were displayed, including famous oil paintings and prints, allowing the audience to better understand Pomar’s work and life, as well as to appreciate his artistic world, and better understand the feelings and unique vision behind each piece of art. The exhibition opens to the public from 15 September to 29 October, and admission is free. For more information, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. The second exhibition, organized by Albergue SCM, will be inaugurated at the patio of the Albergue SCM on 18 September (Friday), at 6:30pm. This Exhibition includes more than 40 Art Works, among the following are 34 of Pomar, such as the erotic phase, specially “Bal chez le Duc” which is exhibited here, for the first time, to the public; the animals phase and a comprehensive sample of its extensive graphic work, specially the 8 lithographs of all illustrations the artist made for the Portuguese Edition of the work of Lewis Carroll, “The Hunting of the Snark”. Besides the stature and meaning of Júlio Pomar work in international contemporary art, the Exhibition also showcases works of artists of the same generation, such as, Graça Morais, André Shan Lima Júlio Resende and Rogério Ribeiro, The exhibition “The Journey of a Master: Júlio Pomar & Friends” will be held at A2 Gallery, in Albergue SCM from 18 September 2015 to 15 January 2016, with free admission. For enquiries, please call 2852 2550 during office hours. The Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong will hold Press Conference on the artists’ life and work on 17 September (Thursday) at 6:00pm at the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong auditorium (Rua Pedro Nolasco da Silva 45, Macao). The Conference will be held in Portuguese. For enquiries, please call the Consulate General of Portugal through tel. no. 2835 6632 during office hours. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government, Ung Vai Meng; Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao S.A.R., Zhang Xiaoguang; Consul General of Portugal in Macao and Hong Kong, Vítor Sereno; Head of the Section of Public Diplomacy and Information of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao S.A.R., Li Nan; Director of Albergue da Santa Casa da Misericórdia, Carlos Marreiros, Curators of the exhibition, Lina Ramadas and Milú Ferreira and Portuguese Art Collector, Manoel Prudencio de Jesus Ferreira.
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Consumer Council conducted its fifth ‘Supermarket price survey’ in September on 15 September for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets at Lam Mau, Patane and San Kio areas in Santo António 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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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, stressed that conserving cultural heritage was the Government’s responsibility and mission; the Government would make its best efforts in transmitting heritage with universal values from generations to generations. In an article released today in the column “Words from the Chief Executive”, Mr Chui said he was pleased to know that the people were more and more enthusiastic in the work in heritage conservation after ten years of inscription of the Historic Centre of Macao on World Heritage List. Ever since the inscription, the Government had endeavoured a string of work for better protection and regulation, such as legitimising the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, and issuing a number of Chief Executive’s Order on heritage conservation, he said. Regarding the work in the past decade, the Chief Executive admitted there was room for improvement, especially in re-vitalising historic buildings; the Government would further advance the work by learning experience from other areas and listening to opinions from the people and experts. Mr Chui also reviewed the process of applying for the World Heritage a decade ago, when he was the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture. He said the successful inscription was inseparable to the support from the Central Government and experts from the mainland and overseas. The full text in Chinese and Portuguese is available on the website of the Chief Executive’s Office (https://www.gce.gov.mo). “Words from the Chief Executive” is a new platform where the Chief Executive shares his thoughts and beliefs regarding society, economy and livelihood with the public.
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The 21st Session of the UNWTO General Assembly is held at Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia from 12-17 September. Deputy Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), Cheng Wai Tong, attended the Assembly and the activities concerned. This Session of the General Assembly meets under the theme “Tourism: Fostering Inclusive Development and Social Transformation” for six days of meetings and activities including an opening ceremony, High-level Forum, Plenary sessions, Regional Committee Meetings for different regions, Tourism & Sustainability Committee Meeting, Tourism & Competitiveness Committee Meeting and so forth. Among the highlights of the program, MGTO attended the Opening, Regional Committee Meeting for East Asia and Pacific, UNWTO Associate Members Meeting as well as Plenary sessions and so forth. During the Associate Members Meeting, it has been confirmed that Macau will continue to participate at the “UNWTO Committee on Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account” (STSC) until 2017. The High-level Forum was organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the theme “Tourism and Air Transport for Development”. Moderated by the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, and the Secretary-General of ICAO, Fang Liu, the Forum focused on how closer cooperation between aviation and tourism can maximize the impact of both sectors on employment, inclusive growth and sustainable development. Held every two years, the UNWTO General Assembly is the most important international meeting attended by senior tourism officials and high-level representatives of the private sector from around the world. The Secretary-General of UNWTO, Taleb Rifai expressed that this is one of the most attended General Assembly ever, with close to 1000 participants including over 72 ministers and state secretaries and delegations from 115 countries/regions. This is the second time for Colombia to host the event. Chosen as the destination for the Assembly, Medellín is known as one of the most innovative cities and well acclaimed for its integrated public transportation system, architecture, culture and art. An associate member of UNWTO since 1981, Macau has been actively participating in the Organization’s meetings. This press release is available at: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/index.php?page_id=172
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP145.0 billion (USD18.17 billion) at the end of August 2015. The reserves increased by 0.3% from the revised value of MOP144.6 billion (USD18.11 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-August 2015 represented 13 times the currency in circulation or 105.7% of Pataca M2 at end-July 2015. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca rose 0.96 points month-to-month and 8.01 points year-on-year to 105.71 in August 2015, implying that overall speaking, the pataca appreciated against the currencies of Macao’s major trading partners.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) organizes the “Parade through Macao, Latin City” every year, providing local associations with a performance platform and an opportunity for them to freely express their creativity while encouraging participants to showcase their creative talent, increasing competitiveness. This year the “Parade through Macao, Latin City” will be held on 6 December (Sunday). IC calls for applications from the local groups registered in the Identification Services Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region between 8 October and 10 October. To promote the diversified development of Macao’s cultural industries, as well as to create opportunities for local artists to observe and conduct exchange activities with international performing groups, the “Parade through Macao, Latin City” has been held annually since 2011 through the streets in the Historic Centre of Macao. Local and overseas associations are invited to participate in this event, offering residents and tourists a cheerful festive atmosphere to celebrate the anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China in a creative way whilst aiming at establishing the image of Macao as a cultural city. Over the past four years, the Parade has been seen by millions of people, from participating crowds and spectators, as well as viewers of the local and regional live broadcast on TV, to viewers of special pre-recorded programmes broadcast in the region or overseas. The Parade has become increasingly popular and one of the main trademark festivals of the city. The performance proposals and all related information must be submitted to IC’s Cultural Activities Department, located at Edif. do Instituto Cultural in Tap Seac Square from 8 October to 10 October 2015 (10am to 7pm) in an envelope indicating clearly “Parade through Macao, Latin City 2015 – Call for Applications by Local Groups”. The Parade regulations can be consulted and downloaded from the Cultural Affairs Bureau website, at www.icm.gov.mo. For more details or enquiries, please call 8399 6608 or 8399 6650 during office hours.
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The Commission Against Corruption announces to launch a video contest targeting local secondary school students. Entitled “Promoting Honesty”, the contest welcomes short video clips created individually or by students in small groups. Through organising this contest, the CCAC aims to encourage students to reflect on the importance of honesty and integrity in their everyday life and to promote these values conveyed in the creative works. The video contest features two categories of participants, namely Junior Secondary Group and Senior Secondary Group. Participants are required to, via the use of video cameras, cameras or mobile phones, shoot a one to three minute video with such optional themes as “fair competition”, “values about money”, “honesty and loyalty”, “incorruptibility” or “trustworthiness”. The application and submission deadline falls on 30th October this year. The judging panel consists of the organiser and professionals from the local film and television industry. The judging criteria will be based on theme expression, creativity, educative value and shooting technique. Not more than 15 entries will be selected from each of the two groups, and those shortlisted will go on to compete for the Champion, 1st runner-up, 2nd runner-up, Merit Awards and a Most Popular Video award in their respective group. For details please refer to the contest rules and the application form. Both the contest rules and the application form are available at the CCAC’s Headquarters and its Branch Offices in Areia Preta and Taipa. They are also downloadable from the CCAC’s website. Enquiry hotline: 2832 6300.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau and Albergue SCM jointly organize two exhibitions entitled ‘The Journey of a Master: Júlio Pomar and Friends’, which will showcase works by renowned Portuguese master Júlio Pomar. One of the exhibition, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, and co-organized by Albergue SCM and Gallery 57, with the support of the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong, will be held at Tap Seac Gallery and will be inaugurated on 15 September (Tuesday) at 6:30pm. The other exhibition, organized by Albergue SCM and co-organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Galeria 57, with the sponsorship of the Macao Foundation, will be inaugurated on 18 September (Friday) at 6:30pm. Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1926, Júlio Pomar is one of the greatest Portuguese artists of the twentieth century. His work features a wide variety of styles, which include design, printmaking, sculpture, illustrations, ceramics, tapestries, theatre design, as well as essays and poetry about painting, all of which strongly demonstrate Pomar’s talents and his tireless effort in pursuing and exploring the arts. The exhibition at Tap Seac Gallery, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, showcases the different phases of Pomar’s artistic career. Thirty-one works by Pomar and his contemporaries will be displayed, including famous oil paintings and prints, allowing the audience to better understand Pomar’s work and life, as well as to appreciate his artistic world, and better understand the feelings and unique vision behind each piece of art. The exhibition will be open to the public from 15th September to 29th October, and admission is free. For more information, please contact IC through tel. no. 8399 6699 during office hours. The second exhibition, organized by Albergue SCM, will be inaugurated at the patio of the Albergue SCM on 18 September (Friday), at 6:30pm. This Exhibition include more than 40 Art Works, among the following are 34 of Pomar, such as the erotic phase, specially “Bal chez le Duc” which is exhibited here, for the first time, to the public; the animals phase and a comprehensive sample of its extensive graphic work, specially the 8 lithographs of all illustrations the artist made for the Portuguese Edition of the work of Lewis Carroll, “The Hunting of the Snark”. Besides the stature and meaning of Júlio Pomar work in international contemporary art, the Exhibition also show cases works of artists of the same generation, such as, Graça Morais, André Shan Lima Júlio Resende and Rogério Ribeiro, The exhibition “The Journey of a Master: Júlio Pomar & Friends” will be held at A2 Gallery, in Albergue SCM from 18 September 2015 to 15 January 2016, with free admission. For enquiries, please call 2852 2550 during office hours. The Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong will hold Press Conference on the artists’ life and work on 17 September (Thursday) at 6:00pm at the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau and Hong Kong auditorium (Rua Pedro Nolasco da Silva 45, Macao). The Conference will be held in Portuguese. For enquiries, please call the Consulate General of Portugal through tel. no. 2835 6632 during office hours.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that receipts of the hotel sector amounted to MOP 27.87 billion in 2014, up by 10.2% year-on-year. Analysed by types of receipts, Room Sales increased by 14.3% year-on-year to MOP 13.65 billion, accounting for 49.0% of the total; receipts from Food & Beverages increased by 1.1% to MOP 5.65 billion. Receipts from Rental of Space rose by 18.6% to MOP 5.58 billion, with those for MICE events (MOP 339 million) soaring by 111.1%. A total of 99 hotels and guesthouses were operating in 2014, a decrease of 1 year-on-year, comprising 66 hotels and 33 guesthouses. Total number of persons engaged dropped by 1.1% year-on-year to 39,475, of which 26,089 (66.1%) were working in 11 large-scale hotels having 800 or more persons engaged, down by 8.1%. Analysed by classification of establishments, receipts of five-star hotels (MOP 23.06 billion) were generated from various sources, including Room Sales at MOP 10.82 billion (46.9% of total), Rental of Space at MOP 5.25 billion (22.8%) and Food & Beverages at MOP 4.75 billion (20.6%), up by 14.7%, 18.9% and 0.1% respectively year-on-year. Receipts of four-star hotels increased by 12.7% to MOP 2.73 billion, with Room Sales accounting for a significant share of 66.5%. Moreover, receipts of three-star and two-star hotels rose by 4.8% to MOP 2.03 billion, of which Room Sales captured 47.7% and Other Receipts (such as management fees, sales of products, etc.) shared 30.8%. It is worth noting that online business of the hotel sector saw marked growth, of which receipts from online room reservation and ticketing, etc. surged by 29.4% to MOP 784 million, with the corresponding growth for three-star and two-star hotels reaching 35.2%. Expenditure of the hotel sector increased by 7.9% year-on-year to MOP 23.07 billion; Operating Expenses (MOP 10.49 billion) and Compensation of Employees (MOP 9.59 billion) rose by 3.1% and 17.2% respectively year-on-year, while Purchase of Goods & Commission Paid (MOP 2.99 billion) edged down by 0.9%. Analysed by classification of establishments, Operating Expenses shared the highest proportion of Expenditure of both five-star and four-star hotels, at 45.4% and 50.1% respectively, while Compensation of Employees (48.3% of total) was the largest expense item of three-star and two-star hotels. Meanwhile, Non-operating Expenses such as depreciation of fixed assets and interest paid totalled MOP 7.25 billion, down by 7.7% year-on-year. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy rose by 18.1% year-on-year to MOP 14.55 billion. Gross Surplus of the sector (receipts plus changes in inventories less expenditure) amounted to MOP 4.96 billion, up by 20.0%. Owing to an increase in major renovations of establishments in 2014, Gross Fixed Capital Formation grew by 22.0% year-on-year to MOP 2.76 billion.
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