News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitors on package tours totalled 541,000 in May 2016, down by 34.2% year-on-year and 8.5% month-to-month. Package tour visitors from Mainland China (420,000) decreased by 36.0% year-on-year, and those from the Republic of Korea (26,000) and Taiwan (29,000) dropped by 29.6% and 40.9% respectively. In the first five months of 2016, visitors on package tours totalled 2,833,000, down by 33.6% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 98,000 in May 2016, down by 21.5% year-on-year and yet up by 5.6% month-to-month. Residents travelling on package tours decreased by 28.0% year-on-year to 37,000; those travelling to Mainland China and the Republic of Korea dropped by 36.0% and 21.2% respectively, while those to Hong Kong and Taiwan rose by 44.7% and 19.1%. In the first five months of 2016, outbound residents using services of travel agencies totalled 503,000, down by 17.1% year-on-year. There were 105 hotels & guesthouses operating at the end of May 2016, an increase of 3 year-on-year. Number of guest rooms totalled 32,000, up by 2,600 (+8.6%) year-on-year; 4-star hotel rooms (7,700) had the largest growth of 28.4% and 5-star hotel rooms (21,000) increased by 5.1%. A total of 932,000 guests checked into hotels & guesthouses in May 2016, up by 9.2% year-on-year. Guests from Mainland China (592,000) increased by 8.3%, while those from Hong Kong (129,000) and Taiwan (36,000) registered double-digit growth, at 14.3% and 34.0% respectively. The average length of stay of guests held stable at 1.4 nights as in May 2015. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses was 79.3%, down by 0.6 percentage point year-on-year; the occupancy rate of 4-star hotels (84.5%) and 3-star hotels (82.7%) increased by 4.5 and 3.7 percentage points respectively. In the first five months of 2016, guests of hotels & guesthouses totalled 4,510,000, up by 12.1% year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels & guesthouses stood at 78.0% and the average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, down by 1.4 percentage points and 0.1 night respectively. Visitor-guests accounted for 71.6% of the total overnight visitors, up notably by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) is closely monitoring the developments of the situation following the explosions in the airport in Turkey. From the information gathered through the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the Macao SAR, there is no indication that any Macao resident has been affected. Until the present moment, GGCT has not received any request for information or assistance. If necessary, Macao residents can call:24-hour Tourism Hotline (853) 2833 3000 The Chinese Embassy and consulates or the Global Emergency Call Center for Consular Protection and Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 24-hour hotline: +86 10 12308 for assistance.
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The Government has been discussing with the Legislative Assembly revisions to the Concession Agreement of the Public Telecommunications Service, in order to deliver better services to the public. The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Raimundo do Rosário, attended on Tuesday (28 June) a meeting at the Legislative Assembly to discuss revisions to the Concession Agreement of the Public Telecommunications Service, and possible conditions attached to any renewal. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Rosário said the Government had not yet made a decision on the auto-renewal of a concession currently held by Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM). The Government can decide not to renew – for a further five-year term – the existing Concession Agreement on the grounds of harm to the public interest, if the company has committed a serious violation of the existing Concession Agreement. In that case, the company is not entitled to any compensation. If the Government decides not to renew – for a further five-year term – the existing Concession Agreement on the grounds of "imperative reasons of overriding public interest”, then the Government might need to pay compensation to the company, under the terms of the Concession Agreement. Such compensation would be equivalent to 2.5 times the company’s average earnings – before tax – over the past three years, said the Secretary. Macao’s fixed-network and external telecommunications services are currently operated by Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau (CTM) under a concession contract. In November 2009, the Government and CTM signed a revised concession contract on public telecommunications services, regarding the early opening-up of local and international network rental services, and transit services. This contract will expire after 31 December 2016.
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Consumer Council conducted its latest ‘Supermarket price survey’ in June on 28 June 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. With reference to the local seven 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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Macao Polytechnic Institute successfully held its Graduation Ceremony for the academic year 2015-2016, witnessing over 600 graduates being conferred their bachelor degrees or senior college diplomas. The ceremony was officiated by the Chief Executive of Macao Dr. Chui Sai On, who reiterated the SAR government’s steadfast commitment to prioritizing policies for education development, and implementing the strategies of “Education-driven Prosperity for Macao” and “Building Macao by Capable Talents” in its imminent Five-Year Strategic Plan. A pledge was also made by the government to reform its Regulation on Higher Education, and to speed up investments in mobilizing resources for higher education, with a view to nurturing talents with multiple capabilities for the moderate adjustment of the local economy towards diversification. The Graduation Ceremony was held in the afternoon of 28 June at the Sports Pavilion of Macao Polytechnic Institute. Distinguished guests attending the ceremony included, among others, the Chief Executive Dr. Chui Sai On, the Secretary of Social Affairs and Culture Mr. Tam Chon Weng, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Foreign Affairs Mr. Pan Yun Dong, the Vice President and other members of the Legislative Council, members of the Macao Polytechnic Institute Consultancy Committee, representatives from government agencies and corporate organizations, principals of secondary schools, etc. Many graduates’ parents and relatives also attended and witnessed the ceremony, adding further joy to the whole event. The Chief Executive Dr. Chui Sai On pointed out in his speech delivered at the Graduation Ceremony that education provides a strong guarantee for buttressing Macao’s overall social competitiveness and improving the living standard of its residents. According to the CE, the SAR government has set out to establish a sustained and effective mechanism for executing multiple measures aimed at bolstering its education development and nurturing of talents, such as providing policy support, increasing investment in resources, and reforming education systems and mechanisms. In the tertiary education sector, the SAR government is resolute in pressing ahead with a long-term strategic plan that includes reforming its Regulation on Higher Education and relevant laws and stipulations, injecting new investment into higher education, optimizing the teaching environment and facilities, and supporting teacher training to establish a team of high-caliber teaching staff, with the ultimate goal of improving the overall quality of higher education in Macao. The government intends to integrate favorable policies and incentive measures designed to encourage local residents to receive higher education, with a view to producing talents with multiple capabilities so as to steer Macao’s local economy towards moderate diversification. Meanwhile, the SAR government fully embraces MPI’s endeavors to capitalize on its unique features and leverage its competitive advantage, as well as its proactive initiatives, by inviting local and overseas education quality assurance agencies to conduct academic accreditation reviews. It applauds MPI’s timely adoption of effective measures that fulfill its three social functions of enhancing teaching and research as well as serving the community, thus making its unique contributions to deepening the utilization of Macao’s human resources and broadening its talents pool. The Chief Executive ended his speech by calling upon MPI graduates to put what they have learned from MPI into practice, and to make contributions to Macao as a means to realize their ultimate dreams in life. The President of MPI Professor Lei Heong Iok stated in his speech at the ceremony that Macao Polytechnic Institute has actually witnessed over 16,000 students graduating from its degree programs in the last 17 years. So far, Macao Polytechnic Institute has become the very first tertiary institution in Asia to have obtained the authoritative accreditation from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the U.K. MPI also boasts a strong competitive advantage and wide-reaching influence with its expertise in gaming teaching and research, as well as Portuguese teaching and research; and it has retained the top rank for many consecutive years as the most popular tertiary institution voted by graduating senior high school students for university enrollment choice. Over 90% of employers have expressed their satisfaction with MPI graduates. All these remarkable achievements are believed to be attributable to MPI’s firm determination to advance with changing times and its unceasing quest for innovation since the handover of Macao, augmented by the gracious support from relevant SAR government bodies and the general public. President Lei Heong Iok further emphasized that, history has bestowed onto our shoulders some honorable and solemn missions, including fully embracing the innovative spirit to adapt to the dynamically changing social, economic and political scenarios in alignment with policy implementation from the SAR government. In keeping with this spirit, MPI endeavors to work in concerted efforts with relevant sectors in the community to contribute to building a brighter future for Macao. The student representative of graduates Lio U Sam gave a speech that featured such themes as “Provoking thinking and broadening perspectives; student-centered teaching and warm-heartedness; a grateful heart and a colorful life; appreciation of thanks and heartfelt congratulations”. She shared with the audience the great benefits she had enjoyed from MPI in the past four years, as well as her first-hand experience with MPI’s top-down execution of the ‘student-centered’ teaching philosophy, which has transformed the MPI community into a warm and cozy family. Speaking on behalf of all graduates, she also thanked MPI for its care and nurturing, vowing to embark on future endeavors with a grateful heart, and to work at her best towards making contributions to social progress in Macao. Macao Polytechnic Institute Office of Public Relations
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A research team from the University of Macau’s (UM) Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) and the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine recently discovered a naturally derived carbohydrate molecule in the medicinal herb Eucommia ulmoides that may help to promote the maturation of new blood vessels and treat ischemic diseases. Led by Dr Wang Chunming from the ICMS, the research team started with extensive literature search and raw material screening before they successfully derived a natural polysaccharide from the medicinal herb Eucommia ulmoides. Experiments on mice suggest that the carbohydrate molecule can bind growth factors to simulate angiogenesis. Further investigations into this carbohydrate may lead to the development of new tools for therapeutic angiogenesis. Titled ‘A Naturally-Derived, Growth Factor-Binding Polysaccharide for Therapeutic Angiogenesis’, the research paper was published in the latest issue of ACS Macro Letters, an authoritative journal of the American Chemical Society. The lead author of the paper is UM PhD student Li Qiu. The research team is now exploring the possibility of clinical application. The research project is jointly sponsored by the Science and Technology Development Fund and UM’s Research Grant.
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For the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June, Consumer Council collects prices of fresh pork and vegetables from wet markets and supermarkets for consumers’ reference. The mentioned data collected during 22 to 28 June are used for comparing the selling prices of the same products from Zhuhai and Hong Kong. The relevant data has been uploaded to the Council’s website for consumers’ reference. The specific price surveys on fresh pork and vegetables are now available on the Council’s website (www.consumer.gov.mo), iPhone & Android ‘Supermarket Price Information Platform’ app, and the Council’s WeChat Account page. The relevant surveys include selling prices of local fresh pork and vegetables, and comparison on the respective selling prices rom Zhuhai, HK, and Macao. For enquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) holds its three-day Annual Marketing Meeting 2016 starting today (27th June). In line with that, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Dr. Alexis Tam, conducted a work meeting this afternoon for overall planning of marketing strategies in the future and listen to the reports of MGTO’s representatives in different markets about their work projects and promotional strategies. During the meeting, Secretary Tam recognized the great efforts made by the market representatives in promoting travel to Macao over last year, and encouraged them to carry on with their endeavor to attract quality tourists and to promote quality tourism rather than pursuing growths in visitor numbers. With regional cooperation being one of the major development strategies embraced by the SAR Government, he hopes that Macao can develop more multi-destination tour routes with different Mainland provinces and cities to attract more international visitors to the region for its tourism appeal. He added that, the SAR Government has combined the elements of tourism, culture and sports to unleash a significant synergistic effect by staging three signature events all in last December, namely Macau International Marathon, Parade through Macao, Latin City and the first edition of Macao Light Festival. This year, the SAR Government has developed new projects including “Anim’Arte Nam Van”, “International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao”, “Wushu Masters Challenge” and the revitalization project of Taipa Houses-Museum, these newly-developed tourism products will certainly become major highlights promoted by the representatives. MGTO is holding its Annual Marketing Meeting (AMM) 2016 in Macao from 27th to 29th June. Over 50 participants including MGTO’s market representatives and PR consultant as well as personnel of the Macao Special Administrative Region’s delegations have come from different places around the world to engage in the three-day intensive meeting in Macao. Secretary Tam hosted a work meeting on the first day for overall planning of marketing strategies in the future and to listen to market representatives’ presentations of their work projects and promotional strategies; during the AMM, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes updated the representatives on Macao’s latest tourism situation and presented the major local events lined up in the latter half of 2016 as well as MGTO’s key projects including the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan. Through PowerPoint presentations, the market representatives evaluated their work performance over the past year and reported their current projects and progress of task preparation for the next half of 2016. They also discussed their marketing plans to carry out in 2017. Coming up, MGTO officials and market representatives will share their experience and exchange perspectives on the future projects. In order to more effectively promote Macao’s latest tourism projects, the market representatives will pay an inspection visit to “Anim’Arte Nam Van”, which was newly-opened early this month, as well as other new tourism attraction in the afternoon of 29th June for a first-hand fun experience. For many years, MGTO’s various market representatives have been branding Macao as an ideal destination to visit for leisure and incentive travel through joining travel fairs and organizing various road shows, travel marts and familiarization trips, while targeting different age groups and visitor segments as they promote the destination in diverse ways. Nowadays, more and more visitors choose to travel independently around the world, while independent travelers love to explore new attractions and seek fun experience in different destinations. Therefore, in order to cater to visitors’ needs, MGTO actively develops a variety of tourism products and encourages various market representatives to promote Macao through e-marketing with greater efforts, so that visitors from around the world can gain Macao’s latest travel tips via a wide range of channels, and the diversity of source markets and visitor segments can be significantly expanded. This press release is available at: http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/pressroom/
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The 28th Macao Arts Festival (MAF), organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held next year in May. In order to promote the development of local arts, IC invites all registered local associations and individuals to submit proposals of local performances until 26 August. The selected works will be included in next year’s MAF programme. The theme of the 28th Macao Arts Festival will be “Space”. All registered local associations and individuals are invited to submit their performance proposals. Programmes’ categories include theatre, dance, children’s shows, and other disciplines. The proposed projects can be original works or works that have been previously staged. Additionally, in order to strengthen the ties between the theme of the 28th MAF and Macao, priority will be given to works in tandem with the theme of the 28th MAF, or those based on locally originated texts or artistic concepts, or works inspired by Macao’s intangible cultural heritage or traditional Chinese performing arts. Interested local associations and individuals should submit registration form and performance proposal including the artistic concept and introduction to the performance, a brief introduction of the team members, budget, set design plan and equipment requirements, as well as other additional information regarding the project. Application Information should be submitted in person by 5:30pm on 26 August to the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building located at Tap Siac Square, indicating the following on the envelope: “Attn: Division of Performing Arts, Cultural Affairs Bureau, Call for Proposals of Local Performances for the 28th Macao Arts Festival” During the selection process, applicants may be required to attend an interview. For details on the application regulations, please visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau website at www.icm.gov.mo or contact staff members of IC Mr. Chong through tel. no. 8399 6624 or email skchong@icm.gov.mo or Mr. Lou through tel. no. 8399 6625 or email cklou@icm.gov.mo, during office hours.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) is launching the 2016 Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making from today. Eligible applicants will be granted subsidies of up to a maximum of MOP160,000 for sample production and promotional materials of selected entries. The maximum quota of the Subsidy Programme is eight persons (groups) and the applications are open from 28 June to 26 August 2016, 5pm. IC launched the Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample Making in 2013, as part of the Subsidy Programme for Macao’s Cultural and Creative Industries Series. This programme seeks to encourage local fashion design and creativity, promote fashion designers to draw up feasible and optimised business plans, encourage the industry to be involved in commercial activities or participate in local and international fashion marketing activities, enhance the popularity and market competitiveness of the local industry and carry forward the sustainable development of the local fashion design industry. The Programme has been running for three years and has attracted the participation of many fashion designers. It has played a proactive role in the local fashion design industry. For these reasons, IC will continue to organise the Subsidy Programme for Fashion on Sample Making this year. Applicants must hold a valid Macao S.A.R. Resident Identity Card and be 18 years old or above. They can apply on an individual or group basis (max. two persons) by submitting entries and application forms with relevant supporting documents. The selection is divided into two stages: initial review and second review. For the initial review, applicants must submit fashion design drawings of their unpublished, original fashion design entries and the completed application form. The adjudicating panel will select a maximum of 15 entries for the second review based on six criteria: creativity and originality, market potential, quality, overall visual effects, feasibility and degree of perfection of the exhibition plan and business plan, as well as the rationale of budgeting. Applicants selected for the second review will be granted an allowance to produce a fashion sample based on the flat drawings submitted for the initial review, and present it to the adjudicating panel by a model of their choice. Upon completion of the second review, the adjudicating panel will, according to the aforementioned criteria, select a maximum of eight applicants eligible for subsidy up to a maximum of MOP160,000 each, covering the costs for the entire series of the selected entries such as production of samples, promotional materials, and so on. The Programme’s information, application rules and forms can be downloaded at the Cultural Affairs Bureau website (www.icm.gov.mo/en/CCI-Subsidy) and at the Macao Cultural and Creative Industries Website (www.macaucci.com). Applicants should submit all required documents to: Cultural Affairs Bureau - Division for Planning and Developing Cultural and Creative Industries (No. 567, Av. da Praia Grande, Edif. BNU, 12th floor A-D, Macao) during the designated period of time. For enquiries, please contact Ms. Lam, staff member of IC, through tel. no. (853) 2892 4040, during office hours.
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