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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (18th April 16:01 till 19th April 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1309μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (18th April 10:01 till 19th April 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1195 and 0.1309μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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(Macao – 18 April 2011) The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today led a delegation to Guangzhou for a meeting with the Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, Mr Wang Yang, to discuss taxation issues and hierarchical management regarding the joint development of Hengqin Island as provisioned in the Framework Agreement on Cooperation Between Guangdong and Macao. This is the second meeting between the two sides since the signing of the Framework Agreement last month. Mr Wang said today's meeting was intended to flesh out the implementation of the Framework Agreement and to prepare for tomorrow's joint conference between Guangdong and Macao. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Chui said Guangdong and Macao were striving to lay down details about hierarchical management in the Macao-Hengqin boundary checkpoint, which is essential to the future development of Hengqin Island. When asked about the potential problems of smuggling and tax evation, he said the Guangdong and Macao authorities would join hands in fighting and preventing these kinds of illegal activities. Mr Chui said the Macao government had already asked the central government to give preferential tax treatment to Macao citizens working or living in Hengqin. Regarding the development of the Guangdong-Macao industrial zone, Mr Chui said the Executive Council had approved the establishment of a company to take charge of the issue. At a later date Guangdong and Macao will jointly set up a firm to develop and run the industrial zone, according to Mr Chui. He pointed out that the industrial zone would offer many co-operation projects in the future apart from the Chinese Medicine Industrial Park and he pledged that the government would facilitate Macao people's participation in the development of Hengqin. The government will also help local small- and medium-sized enterprises to seize opportunities in the development of Hengqin, Mr Chui added. The Secretary of Economy and Finance will give media briefings about each stage of the development in Hengqin in future to keep Macao people informed of the opportunities there.
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Comprising business tourism officials from Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of MGTO and Macau trade representatives from hotels and resorts, convention and exhibition venues, Destination Management Companies (DMCs), event management companies, entertainment suppliers and tour operators, a 32-strong Macau delegation participated in “The 5th Incentive Travel & Conventions Meetings (IT&CM China)”, held at Shanghai Mart Expo from 13 to 15 April. IT&CM China is an annual event which provides a platform for international and leading Chinese players in the business tourism industry to explore exciting business opportunities, generate new sales leads and strengthen existing business partnerships. It was anticipated that some 10,000 business appointments between 253 international and Chinese business tourism suppliers and 344 international and Chinese buyers were conducted this year. Macau is a fast emerging business tourism destination in Asia in recent years. In order to strengthen the development of the business tourism industry and provide timely opportunities for the local trade to network and to do business with their counterparts from Shanghai, as well as the rest of China and the world, participation in IT&CM China could not be better for the facilitation of such kind of communication and regional development. This year, MBTC had a total of 29 pre-scheduled appointments, while on-site inquiries from event planners and incentive travel operators were also demanding according to feedback of the Macau trade. Taking opportunity of IT&CM China, MBTC invited a total of 150 hosted buyers and Macau trade to a networking cocktail at the Macau booth on 14 April, which successfully generated vast attention from the show floor.
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Starting from the first quarter of 2011, the Statistics and Census Service released the new series of Tourist Price Index (TPI) rebased to October 2009 – September 2010. TPI (112.88) for the first quarter of 2011 rose by 14.58% year-on-year; the increment was led by accommodation services that contributed 8.7 percentage points to the TPI increase. Price index of Accommodation (+32.05%); Miscellaneous Goods (+21.49%); Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+10.21%) and Restaurant Services (+7.35%) recorded notable increase, attributable to soaring hotel room rate and charges for restaurant services during the Lunar New Year, as well as dearer prices of food and gold jewellery. On the contrary, price index of Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Clothing & Footwear decreased by 0.92% and 0.87% respectively. TPI for the first quarter of 2011 increased by 4.74% quarter-to-quarter, of which the price index of Accommodation; Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; and Restaurant Services increased by 12.43%, 6.21% and 4.73% respectively. On the other hand, price index of Clothing & Footwear decreased by 4.00%. The average TPI for the last 4 quarters ended the first quarter of 2011 increased by 12.45% from the previous period, with marked increase being observed in the index of Miscellaneous Goods (+22.12%) and Accommodation (+21.39%). However, index of Entertainment & Cultural Activities registered a decrease of 0.24%. The 2009/2010-based TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors. The sections of goods and services of TPI are selected according to the consumption pattern of visitors, namely Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.
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Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13 2010, Macau Government Tourist Office has waged a total of 121 sanctions and 16 operators who provided accommodation illegally were fined 200 000 patacas each according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation". Two operators did not pay the fine within the statutory period and MGTO has submitted the related cases to the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of the fine. To date, one operator has voluntarily paid the fine of 200 000 patacas within the statutory period.
According to the law, if the operators do not pay the fine within the statutory period, the Financial Services Bureau will enforce the collection of fine. Meanwhile, occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation were fined 3 000 patacas each. For those who failed to pay the fine within the statutory period, MGTO has notified the Financial Services Bureau to enforce the collection of fine and informed PSP to deny reentry of the involved persons into Macau if they are non-residents.
The Cross-departmental Working Team will carry on its operation to crack down illegal accommodation. Staff of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) continues to check the premises to ensure they remain sealed and supply of water and electricity suspended. MGTO stressed that damaging the seal and resuming supply of water and electricity is a criminal offence which will be submitted to judicial entity for follow up.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (17th April 16:01 till 18th April 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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Fiona Huang Hao, a senior student of Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), won 'Tomorrow's Tourism' competition organized by Pacific Asia Travel Association(PATA). Fiona is currently enrolled in IFT's bachelor degree programme in Heritage Management. The competition attracted more than 30 individual and group participants from various regions and countries of the Asia Pacific region. The competition, one of the activities celebrating the 60th Anniversary of PATA, was launched last September. It challenged undergraduate students from PATA member schools to come up with new ways of measuring tourism, taking into account its wider impact on the environment and community at large. The aim was to get students to think beyond the typical success indicators of arrival figures and tourism receipts. Working on their own or in a small team, students were required to create a five-minute video presentation outlining their ideas, and accompanied by a written synopsis. In February 2011, PATA announced the 3 finalists of the competition and one of them is Fiona Huang Hao from IFT. The three finalists were invited to present their ideas to a panel of four external judges at PATA 60th Anniversary and Conference in Beijing, April 9-12, 2011, with travel and accommodation costs subsidised by PATA. The four judges included Robert Broadfoot, founder and managing director, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Ltd; Amitabh Kant, managing director, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor; Ray Hammond, futurologist and Richard Quest, anchor and presenter, CNN. After a rigorous competition, Fiona Huang Hao emerged as the champion and was invited to take part in a debate with PATA life members and selected industry professionals. Meanwhile, she received a financial award for her achievement. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. In partnership with PATA's private and public sector members, it enhances the sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and tourism to, from and within the region.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (17th April 10:01 till 18th April 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1361μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to the radiation level in Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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A promotion of Macau Grand Prix and Macau tourism, organized by the Macau Grand Prix Committee (MGPC) and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), was held during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai from 15th to 17th of April. Located in a prime position next to the Light Rail Transit station, with an exhibition area of 150 square meters at Waterscape Square, this promotion has successfully attracted a large number of visitors. According to the information provided by the F1 organizer, there were a total of 163,000 spectators over the three-day event. Mr. Zhang Huimin, President of Shanghai Juss Event Management Co., Ltd. and the FIA Formula One World Championship Race Director Charles Whiting, visited the Macau Grand Prix exhibition. This promotion has combined the themes of the Grand Prix and the Macau tourism, having three parts of exhibition, including a prestigious racing car display, podium area and photo exhibition. In the racing car display area, the Formula 3 car raced by 2000 Macau Grand Prix winner Andre Couto in the 1998 event, and the 2001 race-winning motorcycle of John McGuiness were exhibited. In addition, promotional materials of Macau tourism and posters were distributed to attract tourists to visit Macau and the Macau Grand Prix. Shanghai is a major tourism market of Macau, with over ten daily flights from airlines such as Air Macau, Shanghai, China Eastern and Spring Airlines. The Macau Grand Prix is an important tourist attraction, and it is aimed to attract more visitors to Macau through this promotion in Shanghai F1.
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