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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 3.7% year-on-year to 442,061 in January 2011. Visitors from Mainland China (316,362), Japan (22,224) and Hong Kong (17,522) decreased by 3.8%, 6.5% and 15.1%; however, visitors from Republic of Korea (24,050); and Taiwan, China (23,961) increased by 85.6% and 4.5% respectively. In January 2011, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours soared by 42.0% year-on-year to 18,232, with Mainland China (83.1% of total) and Malaysia (3.2%) being the most popular tour itineraries. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies surged by 51.2% year-on-year to 43,046 and the main destinations were Mainland China (41.7% of total); Hong Kong (24.2%); Taiwan, China (16.3%) and Thailand (5.8%). At the end of January 2011, total number of available guest rooms of the hotel sector increased by 804 (+4.2%) year-on-year to 19,890 rooms. A total of 640,835 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in January 2011, down by 3.5% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (56.6% of total) and Hong Kong (16.9%). The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses was 80.3%, down by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year; average occupancy rate of hotels stood at 81.1%, with 4-star hotels leading at 86.2%. The average length of stay of guests increased by 0.03 night to 1.5 nights. In January 2011, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 63.7% of the total number of tourists, up from 62.7% in January 2010.
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation. According to the latest forecasts conducted this morning (16th) by the two Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres including Beijing and Tokyo, areas affected by nuclear radiation for the next two days are still limited to the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect Macao directly and we are still safe from that. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute this morning ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1414μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on 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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The China's Embassy in Japan published this afternoon (March 15), an emergency statement for the evacuation of the Chinese citizens based on the principles of the highest responsibility for the safeguard of personal safety, allowing people, including Macao residents, to evacuate the highest calamity affected areas ( Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate). The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT), appeals to all Macao residents who are currently the above mentioned locations to maintain contact with Macao. GGCT also informs that all urgent and necessary information will be sent via SMS to people in Japan who are using a Mobile phone from a local Macao Service provider. In case of necessity, the interested parties may call the tourism hotline: 853-28333000. Full text of the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China issued on March 15, 2011: "Since the earthquake occurred northeast of Japan, the Chinese Embassy in Japan has directed all its efforts towards relief of affected Chinese citizens. Based on the principles of the highest responsibility for the safeguard of personal safety, the Ministry of Foreign advises that travel to hardest hit areas in Japan should be avoided. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy in Japan and the Consulate General in Niigata will immediately take all possible means and measures to arrange for the orderly evacuation of citizens which are still in the hardest hit areas. The Embassy and Consulate General in Niigata already have organized a transportation plan which includes large buses leaving from certain defined locations in Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Iwate as to take all of those who choose to return to the country through the airports in Narita and Niigata, respectively."
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any alteration of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been discovered. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation. According to the latest forecasts conducted this afternoon (15th) by the two Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres including Beijing and Tokyo, areas affected by nuclear radiation for the next two days are still limited to the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect Macao directly and we are still safe from that. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute this afternoon ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1396μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. Besides, the radiation level in Macao has always been within the normal level with no abnormalities found since the very beginning of this incident. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt contingency measures.
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As a consequence of another explosion that occurred Today (15March) at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, Japan. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) would like to once again to advise Macao residents to avoid travelling to Fukushima and Sendai. Regarding those whit issues related to travel arrangements to Japan after the catastrophe, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) continues to follow the developments through contacts and coordination with the tourism sector and airlines. GGCT continues to monitor the situation and the effects of the severe earthquake that occurred in northeast Japan, while maintaining contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao, the travel industry ,the Health Bureau (SS), the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the Macao Government's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), the Macao Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan. GGCT would like to appeal to those who are currently in that country to be aware of indications given out by Japanese authorities and take precautions regarding their personal safety as well as remind that Macao residents and tourists in Japan, may contact in case of need the appropriate entities through the tourism hotline: 28333000. The Office reminds that Japan is currently facing a catastrophic situation after last Friday's earthquake followed by multiple replicas. As such, the situation's standpoint is still unclear despite the attempts of society to continue with everyday routine. Meanwhile, GGCT and MGTO will maintain coordination and contacts with the tourism sector and airlines in order to answer inquiries received. According to information from the Macao Travel Industry Council (TICM), all group tours organized by travel agencies under TICM to Japan until the 20th of March via Macao are cancelled. The tour participants that have paid for their reservations may reschedule their tour dates for the period of the next six months or negotiate with their travel agencies in order to exchange for different tourism travel destinations. Air Macau has also informed their passengers holding tickets to Tokyo and Osaka until the 18th and return tickets until the 19th, that they may reschedule or cancel their reservations in this case refund. For additional information the interested parties may access the airline's webpage: www.airmacau.com.mo. The Tourism Crisis Management Office will keep in contact with different parties, coordinating according to the situation's developments in order to direct its efforts to further reduce the impact the earthquake caused to tourists from Macao travelling to Japan. In addition, the office calls for residents and tourists from Macao to assess the country's crisis, and when arriving in Japan to take into account the information and safety guidelines handed out by Japanese authorities. According to information from the Tourism sector the 20 people belonging to a tour from Macau in Osaka will return tomorrow according to plan. Up till today (14 March) 12:00, GGCT received an accumulated total of 173 calls for inquiries and continues to follow-up the requests and give out necessary support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued emergency announcements for all Chinese tourists to reconsider travelling to Japan and avoid the cities which were most affected by the catastrophe, Fukushima and Sendai.
Meanwhile, due to last Friday's earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a 24 hours contact service for Chinese citizens that are currently in Japan: 03-3403-3388, extensions 8881, 8882, 8712. For further information related to the situation in Japan, interest parties may also gather further information from the following web-portals: SMG: http://www.smg.gov.mo
SS: http://www.ssm.gov.mo
IAS: http://www.ias.gov.mo
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP196.2 billion (USD24.44 billion) at the end of February 2011. The reserves rose by 2.2% from the revised value of MOP192.0 billion (USD23.92 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP46.4 billion or 31.0%. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-February 2011 represented 30 times the currency in circulation or 276.2% of Pataca M2 at end-January 2011. The trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the pataca, a gauge of the domestic currency's exchange rates against the currencies of Macao's major trading partners, fell by 0.62 points month-to-month and 2.07 points year-on-year to 88.21 in February 2011. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel: 83952532; Fax: 28353042)
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As a consequence of another explosion that occurred Today (14 March) at the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, Japan. The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) would like to once again advise Macao residents to avoid travelling to the most affected areas, and those who are currently there to be attentive to safety instructions of the Japanese government, and to take necessary measures to ensure personal safety. GGCT continues to monitor the situation and the effects of the severe earthquake that occurred in northeast Japan, while maintaining contact with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao, the travel industry ,the Health Bureau (SS), The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG), the Macao Government's Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Macao Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) and the representatives of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan. GGCT would like to remind that Macao residents and tourists in Japan that in case of need, they may contact the appropriate entities through the tourism hotline: 28333000. According to information from the Macao Travel Industry Council (TICM), all group tours organized by travel agencies under TICM to Japan until the 20th of March via Macao are cancelled. The tour participants that have paid for their reservations may reschedule their tour dates for the period of the next six months or negotiate with their travel agencies in order to exchange for different tourism travel destinations. Air Macau has also informed their passengers holding tickets to Tokyo and Osaka until the 18th and return tickets until the 19th, that they may reschedule or cancel their reservations in this case refund. For additional information the interested parties may access the airline's webpage: www.airmacau.com.mo. Due to the last Friday's earthquake, replicas can still be felt. Transportation and Telecommunications in Japan are still not totally functional. GGCT is closely monitoring the situation and appeals to Macao residents and tourists to be attentive to their personal safety and instructions of the Japanese government. Up till today (14 March) 17:00, GGCT received an accumulated total of 165 calls for inquiries and continues to follow-up the requests and give out necessary support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC issued emergency announcements for all Chinese tourists to reconsider travelling to Japan and avoid the cities which were most affected by the catastrophe, Fukushima and Sendai. Meanwhile, due to last Friday's earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a 24 hours contact service for Chinese citizens that are currently in Japan: 03-3403-3388, extensions 8881, 8882, 8712. For further information related to the situation in Japan, interest parties may also gather further information from the following web-portals: SMG: http://www.smg.gov.mo
SS: http://www.ssm.gov.mo
IAS: http://www.ias.gov.mo
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Upon the series of Nuclear Power incidents occurred at Fukushima Prefecture Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 in Japan, the Macao Meteorological Bureau has been monitoring closely for any changes of the radiation level in Macao and so far no abnormalities has been recorded. At the same time, the World Meteorological Organization has already activated its Environmental Emergency Response operation and conduct forecasts upon this nuclear leakage incident. Since for the next two days, Japan will still be affected by mainly westerly winds, contamination is expected to affect only the eastern part of Japan and the Northern Pacific to the east of Japan. Macao locates more than 3000km from the site of the incident with an opposite direction to the affected areas and thus this nuclear incident is not expected to affect us directly. According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation located on the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1466μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) from the 11th of March till 11am today (14th) which lies within the normal level with no abnormalities found. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt contingency measures.
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IFT strives to offer students various practical experiences in the bachelor degree programmes, enabling students to master the requirements of the industry and be prepared for the challenges in the job market. All bachelor degree programme students are required to complete a 6-month internship programme at tourism organisations in Macao or overseas in their 3rd year of study. Since the establishment of internship programme, performances of the students are excellent and feedbacks from the industry are very positive. In the previous academic year, over 40 organisations and corporations offer internship opportunities to IFT students, including the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Macau Government Tourist Office, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Public Administration and Civil Services Bureau, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Macao Cultural Centre, Grand Hyatt Macau, L'Arc Hotel Macau, MGM GRAND, City of Dreams, Grand Lapa Hotel, Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A., StarWorld Hotel, The Venetian Resort and Hotel, EGL Tours (Macau) Company Limited, Wing On Travel, Hong Tai Travel, Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd., Air Macau Company Limited and other tourism organisations. To broaden the horizons of the students, IFT aggressively explore more opportunities of overseas internship. Students can choose to join the internship programme in large corporations in the USA, Europe, South East Asia, Hong Kong SAR and mainland China to experience the local cultures. In the past, students have worked for UNESCO Bangkok in Thailand, National Trust in UK, South Canterbury Museum in New Zealand, Grand Hyatt Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and other international well-known organisations. Currently, IFT and Walt Disney World offer different internship programmes to students, including, · 6-month Cultural Representative Programme of Food & Beverage Service at Disney World China Pavilion for year 3 students
· 1-year Cultural Representative Programme of Merchandise and Food & Beverage Services for graduates
· “International College Programme” offered by the Florida State University and Disney World - Participating students will attend an extensive hospitality course at the Florida State University before they perform internships at the Walt Disney World On 9 and 10 March, Disney World International Recruitment Team was invited to IFT for a talk on the internship programme, as well as a preliminary interview to the students. The recruitment team consists of Ms. Sue Sharpe, International Recruitment Recruiter, Ms. Anne Thiese, College Recruitment Team Leader and Ms. Helen Fan, China Pavilion Merchandise Department Buyer of China Pavilion. Successful candidates will go to the Walt Disney World in Florida, USA to learn the theme park operation knowledge and customer service skill. They can also experience different cultures through the interactions with students around the world.
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To celebrate tomorrow (15th March)'s 'World Consumer Rights Day', a photo exhibition on 'Smart Consumption' is held by Consumer Council today and tomorrow. A talk on tips for buying real estate property given by Deputy Council President, Leong Hong Sai, of The Macau Institution of Engineers will be held this afternoon. Series of events and activities will be held this year in response to the annual themes advocated by Consumers International and China Consumers' Association. The first event – a photo exhibition on 'Smart Consumption' - is held (15th & 16th March), at Park of Iao Hon Market. Photos of different kinds of products and services related to consumers' daily lives, such as product safety, consumers' rights when using electronic money, credit card, etc. will be displayed. A talk on tips for buying real estate property given by Deputy Council President, Leong Hong Sai, of The Macau Institution of Engineers will also be held will be held at 4.30pm today. The public is welcome to join the event which opens at noon today (15th March). The latest Consumer Report issue no. 211 is also published, covering 2010 annual statistics of cases by Consumer Council. Last year, the Council received a total of 7,797 cases, which consisted of 2,566 cases, 5,116 inquiries, and 115 suggestions. Complaint cases mainly included telecommunications services, as well as prices and after-sales services of telecommunications products. The Council indicated that significant increase in the number of inquiry cases may be caused by its strengthened work in educating consumers of their own rights to prevent consumer dispute. The Council will continue to emphasize on its education work to consumers. Consumer Report is now available free of charge at the two offices of Consumer Council, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources online at the Council's official website (http://www.consumer.gov.mo). For enquiries, please call 8988 9315.
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