News

Introducing the Macao Tourist Satisfaction Index (MTSI) 1. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), the International Tourism Research Centre (ITRC) of IFT is pleased to announce the publication of the Macao Tourist Satisfaction Index, or MTSI. The MTSI measures the satisfaction of Macao visitors across 10 tourism related service sectors and integrates all these in an overall index. 2. The 10 tourism related sectors in Macao measured in the MTSI are (a) casinos, (b) events, (c) heritage attractions, (d) hotels, (e) immigration services (e.g. customs), (f) non-heritage attractions, (g) restaurants, (h) retail shops, (i) tour guides/operators, and (j) transportation services. The overall satisfaction index for the tourism industry in Macao is then estimated, via a statistical modeling process, based on the sector indices. 3. In essence, the TSI tracks, over time, how well tourism services and organisations in Macao perform in satisfying visitors. The Macao Tourist Satisfaction Index (MTSI) is conducted throughout the year with reports showing results of the overall index and for each of the 10 sectors published quarterly and annually. The general public can download copies of the quarterly and annual report from the ITRC website. 4. Objectives of the MTSI:
(a) To monitor and inform the general public in Macao about the state of visitors’ satisfaction with the different sectors comprising the tourism and hospitality industry in Macao. (b) To provide information that will be useful for management of various operating organisations in the hospitality and tourism industry as well as for tourism policy planners and decision makers.
(c) To provide a means for determining factors relevant to influencing the level of visitors’ satisfaction among the different sectors of the tourism industry, with the long term goal of making the industry more competitive, and to establish a regular assessment mechanism or “barometer” to gauge the influence of these factors. Background, Short History of the MTSI and International Collaboration 5. With the MTSI, Macao joins a growing list of international tourism destinations that are adopting similar satisfaction indices in order to measure their service performance and competitiveness over time as well as to compare and benchmark performance with other tourism destinations. Besides Macao, destinations that are now developing tourism satisfaction indices include Singapore, the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Hong Kong, which was the first to introduce a tourism satisfaction index in 2009, the Hong Kong Poly TSI, and developed by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 6. While satisfaction indices for different industries have been around for some time, developing and applying a satisfaction index specific for tourism destinations was pioneered and initiated in 2009 by Professor Haiyan Song of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, along with Dr. Robert Veen, and other members of Professor Song’s team. 7. In Macao, IFT first began reporting on tourist satisfaction of Macao visitors in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, IFT continued to measure tourist satisfaction of Macao visitors through its annual Tourism Carrying Capacity Study—a Macao Government commissioned study—which incorporates measures similar to the present MTSI. Recognising the similarity of their efforts as well as the potential for synergy and comparative value of working together, ITRC-IFT and SHTM through Professor Song began formal collaborations on this project in 2009. 8. With a growing international network of tourism destinations adopting satisfaction indices, Macao will be able to determine its performance as well as strengths and weaknesses relative to other destinations, allowing it to be more competitive and identify strategic areas for improvement. Methodology and Most Recent Results of the MTSI 9. Data collection began for the MTSI during the third quarter of 2009. For each sector, approximately 50 interviews are conducted per quarter, which is equivalent to about 200 interviews per year per sector. Respondents are selected and interviewed based on a systematic random sampling technique. Interviews are conducted at major sites and terminals in Macao. 10. Tourist satisfaction (TS) for each sector is measured with three indicators, namely: (1) confirmation of expectations, (2) comparison with the ideal and (3) overall satisfaction. Each indicator is measured by an 11-point scale ranging from 0 to 10. The weight of each sector satisfaction is estimated based on structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimator. The estimated weights are then used to construct the sector TSI value which is transformed to a 0- to 100-point scale: The higher the index, the more satisfied the tourists for the corresponding sector. The Overall MTSI is an average of the ten sector TSIs. 11. Most recent data collected over a one year period from Q3 2009 to Q2 2010 indicate the following satisfaction levels for each of the 10 sectors in Macao as well as overall (with 100 being the highest score):
(vide em anexo.) 12. Results indicate that:
· MTSI fluctuates over time and among sectors. · In regard to the four quarter overall MTSI, MTSI is the lowest in Q4 (peak season) while the index hits to its highest point in Q2 (low season). The findings seem to suggest an inverse relationship between tourist satisfaction and tourist inflow. The findings may also suggest a “bottleneck” effect in that tourist satisfaction would decline when Macao’s tourism capacity reach a threshold. o In comparison with TSI from other destinations, Macao’s overall MTSI (average of four quarters = 70.75) is lower than the 72.65 recorded in Hong Kong in 2009.
· In regard to sectoral (industry) TSI, tourists are less satisfied with the hotel and restaurant sectors (industries), while they are more satisfied with the heritage and event sectors. o Based on the MTSI structural model, differences in the satisfaction scores of different sectors can be attributed to discrepancies between tourists’ expectations and perceived performance as well as between the value they expect and the actual value they receive. o The retailing sector is doing relatively good as the TSI is around 72.6 on average. It peaks in Q3 and drops to below 70 at the beginning of the year. This pattern of data is possibly explained by the number of sales promotions offered by retailers at different periods of the year.
o Another issue is that since tourist expectation influences their satisfaction level, the findings may also suggest that Macao may have portrayed an image of an ideal destination with attractive hotels and restaurants as it has been known as the Asian Las Vegas; however, when tourist perceptions fall below their expectations, tourist satisfaction drops. This is particularly serious during the peak season. · Why is tourism satisfaction important? The findings indicate that satisfied tourists are more likely to return and less likely to complain to their friends and relative about their experience in Macao. Our other studies also reveal that repeat visitors do spend more money in Macao. These statistics suggest that satisfying tourists should be an important goal. The Hong Kong PolyU TSI and Shenzhen TSI 13. The Hong Kong PolyU TSI framework has been applied to six large datasets representing different tourism-related service sectors in Hong Kong. A quota sampling method was employed to obtain a representative sample of inbound tourists from seven source markets. The questionnaire was available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The survey locations are the (i) Hong Kong International Airport, (ii) ferry terminals, (iii) hotels, and (iv) popular tourist attraction sites (Peak, Avenue of Stars, Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car). Data collection took place during the summer months and 2747 valid questionnaires were obtained for 2010.
(vide em anexo.) The overall TSI is derived from an innovative aggregation scheme which is part of a two-stage Hong Kong PolyU TSI framework. This framework is able to synthesize the service performance metrics horizontally and vertically across tourism-related sectors in order to visualise their contribution to the performance of the destination as a whole. The results for 2010 are positive and well above average. Although, the majority of the service sectors indicate slightly lower index scores, the Hong Kong PolyU TSI for 2010 still managed to climb up to 73.94 index points out of 100. The increase is mainly due to the elevated index scores of the attractions and transportation sectors. 14. Similar encouraging results are found for the Shenzhen TSI for 2010. The survey data was collected at (i) popular tourist sites (Happy Valley, Windows of the World, Splendid China etc.), (ii) ferry terminals, (iii) hotels, (iv) checking points and (v) transport interchanges. Data collection took place during the summer months and 4351 valid questionnaires were obtained covering six sectors across nine source markets to fulfill the study’s objectives. All TSIs are positive and exceeding the mid points. The attractions, transportation and hotel sectors make up the top three and the overall index is 63.49 out of 100. (vide em anexo.) Other Notes 15. The MTSI project is part of ITRC-IFT’s thrust to make academic research more accessible to the general public and more collaborative between industry and scholars. The MTSI project is supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). 16. For further information about the Macao TSI, please contact Ms. Wendy Tang (T: 8598-3015; E: itrc@ift.edu.mo) or view the ITRC website: www.ift.edu.mo/itrc (currently in English only). 17. For further information about the Hong Kong TSI, please contact Prof. Haiyan Song (T: 2766 6372; E:hmsong@polyu.edu.hk) or visit the website: www.polyu.edu.hk/htm.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the number of visitor and non-resident arrivals totalled 2,950,450 in August 2010. Total visitor arrivals rose by 14.2% year-on-year to 2,357,689. Same-day visitors (1,241,104) accounted for 52.6% of the total visitor arrivals, with 671,216 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 20.3% year-on-year to 1,263,442 (53.6% of total visitor arrivals), with 590,271 travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, up by 18.2% from August 2009. Visitors from Hong Kong (758,196) and the Republic of Korea (36,071) grew by 13.7% and 40.2% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (115,757) and Japan (37,207) decreased by 8.1% and 0.8%. Total visitor arrivals reached 16,749,204 in the first eight months of 2010, up by 18.0% year-on-year. The majority of visitors were from Mainland China (8,913,001), Hong Kong (5,009,560), Taiwan, China (890,183) and Japan (271,374). Same-day visitors accounted for 51.9% of the total visitor arrivals, at 8,696,433 in the first eight months of 2010. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 6,906,509 in the first eight months of 2010, up by 21.3% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 8.7% to 4,292,910, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (52.4%) and Mainland China (23.9%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa surged by 52.6% to 2,373,071. Visitor arrivals by land rose by 17.1% year-on-year to 8,742,028 in the first eight months of 2010; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 7,983,534 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (79.0%) and Hong Kong (14.0%). Visitor arrivals by air increased by 6.4% year-on-year to 1,100,667 in the first eight months of 2010. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport went up by 7.2% to 1,087,040, with the majority coming from Taiwan, China (38.0%), Mainland China (30.7%) and Malaysia (7.1%).
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) participated in the 32nd edition of the International French Travel Market (IFTM) TOP RESA in France to target Macau’s tourism source market in Europe.
The annual leading travel and tourism trade show to be held from 21 to 24 September in Paris brings together professionals in the tourism sector from tour operators, travel agencies to airlines, hotels, event agencies around the world. During its fourth appearance at the tourism trade show, Macau Government Tourist Office sets up a 15 sq. meter booth next to the Hong Kong booth in the Asia Zone to highlight the two destinations. Meetings with trade and media are set up at the MGTO booth with the theme “Experience Macau”, to further promote Macau tourism in the European market. Since 2005, MGTO has dedicated efforts to explore the French market and aside from participating at the annual travel trade shows, MGTO actively organizes promotions. Between June 29 and July 1 this year, MGTO together with Guangdong Provincial Tourism Administration and Hong Kong Tourism Board, joined hands to carry out a series of promotional activities in the United Kingdom and France to further promote the international brand of Pearl River Delta regional tourism. For the first seven months this year, Macau welcomed over 22 thousand visitors from France, nearly a 7 per cent year-on-year growth.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Composite CPI (104.38) for August 2010 increased by 2.55% year-on-year, attributable to the price increase of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages. Analyzed by section of goods and services, Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+6.32%); Recreation & Culture (+6.06%); Clothing & Footwear (+5.88%); Health (+5.43%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+4.88%) and Transport (+3.24%) recorded notable increases on account of dearer prices of gold jewellery, men’s clothing, rice, fresh fish and seafood, vegetables, and airfare, as well as higher charges for outbound package tours, medical services and meals bought away from home. As for other sections, apart from the 9.80% decrease of the price index of Education, reduced charges for mobile phone services caused the price index of Communication to decrease by 3.60%. The CPI-A (103.81) and CPI-B (104.52) for August 2010 increased by 1.97% and 2.78% year-on-year respectively. The Composite CPI for August 2010 decreased by 0.21% month-to-month, with the price indices of Clothing & Footwear and Housing & Fuels falling by 3.27% and 0.26% on account of summer sales of clothing as well as lower price of LPG. However, price index of Recreation & Culture rose by 1.39%, attributable to higher charges for outbound package tours during Summer Holidays. The average Composite CPI for the first eight months of 2010 increased by 2.26% year-on-year. For the 12 months ended August 2010, the average Composite CPI rose by 1.38% from the preceding period. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.
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From yesterday 5 p.m. until 5p.m. today (September 19) the Cross-departmental Working Team sealed one premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally. Two occupants were found on site. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, a total of 485 premises were checked, of which 65 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 60 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) will continue investigation on unanswered doors, which are suspected to be used to provide accommodation illegally. Meanwhile, during investigations to other cases, PSP has found four premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and informed the Cross-departmental Working Team to handle the cases. To date, the operations involved more than 522 occupants, among whom 289 were occupants of premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally and were investigated, including 12 operators, 9 touts, 9 persons who manage the premises that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) and 3 occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation (among the three occupants who failed to fulfill their duty of cooperation, one has paid the fine). Among the occupants, there were 12 overstayers and 8 illegal immigrants. To help the investigations, when necessary, MGTO can request a judicial order to enter into the suspect premises to investigate. Following the raid to premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally, MGTO began sanction proceedings on involved operators, touts and managing staff, and adopted provisional measures to cut the supply of water and electricity to the concerned premises and sealed the doors. According to the new law, operators and person who manage the premise that provide accommodation illegally (management staff) incur a penalty up to 800 000 patacas, touts can be fined up to 100 000 patacas and occupants who fail to cooperate are fined 3 000 patacas. Public can also call 2833 3000 to report suspected premises. MGTO and Legal Affairs Bureau remind travelers that, according to the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation", occupants found in premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally have the obligation to provide information or will be fined 3,000 patacas for violating the duty of cooperation. Occupants providing false information need to bear criminal responsibility. Non-residents who fail to pay the fine by due date might be denied reentry into Macau in the future.
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Close to a thousand buyers, sellers and media representatives from 60 countries and regions witnessed the successful conclusion to the PATA Travel Mart 2010 (PTM 2010) held in Macau. As Asia Pacific's most important and influential travel contracting and networking show, PTM 2010 took place at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, with an exhibition area of 3,402 sq. meter housing 380 booths. This year, the travel mart welcomed 530-sellers from 295 organizations of 38-source markets, 303-buyers from 269 organizations of 53-source markets as well as 152 media delegates from 13 countries and regions. 28 organizations in Macau joined the travel mart. The 3-day travel mart provided a platform for buyers and sellers to network and to seek business opportunities. The first two days were for trade members and the organizer invited local higher education institutes and tourism industry associations from Hong Kong to visit the mart on the third day. Highlights of PTM 2010 featured the welcome dinner reception hosted by Macau SAR Government, PATA Gold Awards luncheon and presentation ceremony, dinner reception hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (the next PTM host), the show preview of The House of Dancing Water, tours to Macau's world heritage sites and workshops. In addition, PATA also cooperated with the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University to organize a full-day seminar, "Human Resources Challenges in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry: Promoting Industry and Academic Collaboration". Immediately following PTM 2010, the PATA Executive Board and PATA Board Meeting was held from September 17 to 19 at the Grand Hyatt Macau. A dinner was held on September 18 at the Macau Tower to welcome the board members, and PATA CEO Gregory Duffell took a first-hand experience of the Macau Tower's Bunjy Jump. PATA Chairman Hiran Cooray, PATA CEO Gregory Duffell, PATA Vice Chairman Joao Manuel Costa Antunes and other board members participated in the meeting. The program included Board Meeting sessions and meetings of different committees. The PATA Executive Board and Board of Directors lead the operation of the association and organize the annual meetings and activities. PATA Founded in 1951, PATA is a non-profit membership association dedicated to building responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. MGTO has been a member of PATA for over half a century since 1958. PATA has currently 800 full members and over 7,000 chapter members around the globe. PATA's membership boasts more than 100 government, state and city tourism bodies, over 50 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of travel industry companies. PATA www.PATA.org
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PATA Grand and Gold Awards winners celebrated their achievements today (Sept 7) at the PATA Gold Awards lunch on the last day of PATA Travel Mart 2010 at the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. PATA presented 20 Gold Awards and four Grand Awards at the PATA Gold Awards Lunch and Award Presentation to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of the stakeholders in various tourism industry aspects.
This year, the awards recognized the achievements of 24 organizations and individuals. MGTO is sponsoring, for the 15th consecutive year, the PATA Gold Awards Lunch and Award Presentation. Four Grand Awards are given out to outstanding showcases in marketing, education and training, environment and heritage. This year, the four Grand Awards went to Tourism New Zealand in the marketing category; Banyan Tree Spa Academy in education and training; AlamKulKul Boutique Resort, Bali for environment, and Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in the heritage category respectively. Multiple awards went to Hong Kong Tourism Board, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and Tourism Authority of Thailand. MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes expressed, “We would like to give a big round of applause to the winners of this year's PATA Gold Awards, who have shown excellence and dedication in each of their particular fields. In fact, their achievements are valuable contributions, not only to the travel-and-tourism industry, but also to areas of education and environment as well. The 2011 PATA Gold Awards will open for entries in October, and we strongly encourage our industry stakeholders to take this opportunity to present their outstanding work again.” He pointed out, “Whilst this is the final day of PATA Travel Mart 2010, as our experience tells us, the acquaintances made during PATA events go a long way, and we look forward to meeting many of you again in next year's PATA Travel Mart in Delhi.” The PATA Gold Awards are well-established awards for industry stakeholders that have made outstanding contributions to the development and promotion of travel and tourism across the Asia Pacific region in a responsible and sustainable manner,. The awards, setting industry standards for excellence and innovation, are open to all-comers and not restricted to PATA members. They recognize exceptional achievements in six broad categories: Marketing, Environment, Heritage and Culture, Education and Training, Marketing Media and Travel Journalism. In 2002, MGTO was granted a Grand Award for the first time in the Marketing category with the "Macau Welcomes You Passport Campaign" and in 2007 in the Heritage category with the "Macau World Heritage Year Campaign". In 2008, MGTO received the PATA Gold Award under the category: Travel Advertisement Print Media with “Experience Macau”. MGTO has been sponsoring the PATA Gold Awards lunch and Award Presentation since 1996.
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To work in line of Macao SAR government’ life time learning policy and to cope with the increasing use of English in all businesses, IFT and Macao Federation of Trade Unions are offering three 1-year English certificate programmes designed for individuals with different English proficiencies and with different career goals. It is hoped that through these courses, occupational language skills in tourism and service related fields can be enhanced, promoting society improvement at large. The three certificate programmes are: 1. English Certificate I - Practical English
To enable absolute and false beginners to develop the ability to cope with simple oral and written communications for everyday use and within a work-related context. 2. English Certificate II - Workplace English
To equip participants with the knowledge and skills to deal with daily administrative tasks and to develop ability to communicate in social travel and work-related contexts with confidence. 3. English Certificate III - Business English
To get participants ready to deal with supervisory tasks using English and interact fluently and confidently in both social and business contexts. After this programme, participants should be able to deal with more complex situations like understanding and producing routine business correspondence and reports. The duration of each certificate is 270 to 343 hours, and includes 6 courses and tutorial sessions for exams. Upon completion of each course, participants will receive a certificate issued by IFT. Upon completion of each certificate, participants will be eligible to take the internationally recognised LCCI Spoken English for Tourism (SEFT) and LCCI English for Business (EFB) public exams. Participants may complete all three stages starting from level 1. For admission, applicants are required to pass an entry test or finish the previous levels of the above programmes. All courses are fully subsidised by Macao SAR through Macao Federation of Trade Unions, admitting a total of 150 students. Besides this programme, Macao Federation of Trade Unions is also a partner of IFT Community Education and Development Programme (CEDP), working together to nurture well-trained professionals for tourism industry, and enhance the general quality of Macao citizens, which in turn facilitates the prosperity and sustainability of the Macao economy.
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Dr. Anthony Lau, an alumnus of the University of Macau (UM), donated MOP 10 million to the University of Macau Development Foundation (UMDF), with the hope of advancing whole-person education at UM. This has been the largest donation from UM alumni. To show gratitude for Dr. Lau’s generosity, UM will name one of the classroom buildings on the new campus after Dr. Lau. At the cheque presentation ceremony held today (17 September 2010), Dr. Lau presented the dummy cheque to Dr. Tse Chi Wai, Chair of the Executive Committee of UMDF and Chair of the University Council of UM, who received the cheque on behalf of UMDF. UM Rector Wei Zhao said in his speech that, “A university cannot grow without its alumni and community support.” He added that donations from UM alumni “have always been important in driving the University’s pursuit of excellence,” and that “Dr. Lau takes the lead to make another large donation to his alma mater as a means to inspire fellow alumni and students to support the University in its 30th anniversary next year.” In closing, Rector Wei Zhao said that “It is both the University’s hope and Dr. Lau’s hope that his continuous generosity can encourage people including our alumni to support the development of the University.” Dr. Lau has spared no effort to support the development of his alma mater since graduation from the University of East Asia (predecessor of UM). He is former President of the University of Macau (UM) (Hong Kong) Alumni Association. He donated HKD one million to UM on its 25th anniversary. Dr. Lau said that UM has been actively promoting high-quality undergraduate education in recent years, with the aim of developing future leaders for Macao. He said as an alumnus of UM he felt very proud of UM’s progress in teaching and research and was happy to be a part of it. He also encouraged other alumni to donate money and support alumni-themed activities at UM. Dr. Lau now serves as the Chairman of Pacific Air Ltd. He was a founding shareholder and former Chairman and Chief Executive of BALtrans Holdings Ltd, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The cheque presentation ceremony was followed by a talk “Logistics Path to Entrepreneurship” by Dr. Lau. In the talk Dr. Lau shared with the audience his many years of experiences in the logistics industry. In order to offer more choices for local secondary school graduates and develop well-rounded professionals in various fields to contribute to the economic diversification in Macao, UM plans to establish approximately eight faculties on the new campus, including the existing Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (which will be divided into two separate faculties, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Arts), and at least one new faculty: Faculty of Life Science and Health.
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Friday 10 September, 2010 marked the end of the first on-site weeklong seminar for the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV)’s Master of Hospitality Administration (MHA) inaugural class. As part of their graduate degree program, MHA Macao students spend most of their time doing self-directed learning with their faculty via UNLV’s WebCampus platform. However for one week per module, students come together to study in class with their professors from Las Vegas, meet industry partners, tour hospitality properties, and network with university alumni. This week marked the end of the first Seminar Week of UNLV’s MHA Macao inaugural group. UNLV’s Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Pearl Brewer presided over her course of Information Technology and UNLV Singapore Campus’ Dr. Nicholas J. Thomas took charge of his course on Human Resources. Highlights for the students included site visits to the Wynn Macau and Venetian Macau for back-of-house tours and Q&A sessions with senior management staff. Students were also treated to highly interactive lecture and discussion led by the Galaxy Entertainment Group about its pre opening activities for Macao’s newest property to open in 2011. An intensive week of classroom learning, discussions and visits culminated with a final reception with industry partners, UNLV alumni and UNLV faculty at IFT Education Restaurant. For MHA student Beatrice Leong; Assistant Director of Casino Marketing – Slots of MGM MACAU, seminar week was a real highlight of her studies thus far. “This week was such a memorable experience! Not only did it widen my academic knowledge, but the site visits and guest speaker interactions provided the practical industry application about which I have been studying.” For classmate Peggy Wong; Sales Manager for the Venetian Macao, seminar week was a chance to bring the online learning into a physical classroom and bring to life her classmates she sees online daily. “It was so great to meet all of my fellow classmates and it was really a wonderful week together. I know now that while I may be working alone with my textbooks and laptop every night my classmates are nearby for discussions and that I can always count on them!” Fellow classmate Yolanda Lao; Assistant Director of Special Events for the Wynn Macau shared Peggy’s sentiment, “This week has been rewarding and enjoyable with the exposure to all the guest speakers from the industry sharing their experience and insights. It has been a great week for me to meet and network with my classmates and professors who has been working with me online all the time.” UNLV’s Master of Hospitality Administration (MHA) Executive Program targets working professionals within the hospitality field and is being offered in partnership with IFT Macao, a long time hospitality educator and partner of the university. Its flexible program design, combining distance learning and on-site intensive one-week seminars, is a convenient model for industry professionals to maintain their current employment while pursuing an internationally recognized graduate degree. The inaugural group is looking forward to its next seminar week which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada in December 2010. Background on UNLV and IFT
UNLV has a 50-year history of academic excellence and its graduates can be found in key management positions in leading hotels throughout the world. The Singapore Campus, which opened in August 2006, is UNLV’s first international campus and has a current student population of close to 500 students. UNLV’s Singapore Campus is accredited in the United States and recognized by the Singapore Ministry of Education. IFT, established in 1995, is a public institution of higher education that offers degree and professional programs in a wide range of tourism-related disciplines such as hospitality, tourism business, heritage, events, retail and marketing, leisure and entertainment, sports and recreation, creative and cultural studies, and culinary arts. IFT has received various awards in recognition of its achievement in quality education. In 2008, IFT was awarded the “Medal of Merit for Tourism” by the Macao SAR Government for its contribution to the development of the tourism industry. Contact Information for media interview
For more information or to arrange for interviews with either Dr. Andy Nazarechuk, Dean of UNLV Singapore, or Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT Macao, please contact: For UNLV Singapore
Ms. Jenny Weinman
Manager of Graduate Programs
(65) 6332-9538 ext. 610
jennifer.weinman@unlv.edu.sg For IFT Macao
Ms. Frida Law
Senior Public Relations Officer (853) 8598-3182
frida@ift.edu.mo
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