News

To provide diversified training opportunities for managers and professionals and to enhance the management quality of the local service industry, IFT and Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management co-orgainsed an Executive Development Programme on Revenue Management again on 23 & 24 May. The objective of this course is to help participants learn how to apply the principles of revenue management to maximize profitability. The programme attracted more than twenty registrations from senior managers of local hotels and resorts, and organizations from neighboring regions.
IFT has the honour of inviting Dr. Sheryl E. Kimes, professor of operations management at the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, USA. Professor Kimes earned her doctorate degree in Operations Management in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin. She previously served as the interim dean and the Director of Graduate Studies of the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University.
Dr. Kimes mainly teaches restaurant revenue management, yield management and food and beverage management. She has been named the school's graduate teacher of the year three times. She has published over 50 articles in leading journals and her research interests include revenue management and forecasting in the restaurant, hotel and golf industries. She has served as a consultant to many hospitality enterprises around the globe. The focus of the programme is on professional knowledge in revenue management. Topics covered include:
· a strategic view of revenue management
· right approach to manage the distribution channels
· total hotel revenue management · the role of revenue management in the future As the tourism industry is growing swiftly in Macao, so will the demand for knowledgeable professionals. Through discussions and case studies during the programme, participants learned updated concepts and obtained the latest information in revenue management to help them improve their strategies to effectively maximise profit for their corporations. IFT is always striving to enhance its research and teaching so as to contribute to the industry and the society. By organising seminars and workshops, IFT constantly shares with the industry the most updated information and research findings about the future development of Macao's tourism industry and ways to enhance it.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that under the influence of seasonal factors, consumption of Electricity decreased by 12.1% over the previous quarter to 736 million kWh in the first quarter of 2011, of which consumption by the Business sector decreased by 13.1% to 575 million kWh (Gaming sector shared 48.0%) and that by Households went down by 4.9% to 128 million kWh. Imports of Electricity dropped by 21.2% quarter-to-quarter to 476 million kWh in the first quarter of 2011, bringing its relative importance to available supply down from 70.0% in the previous quarter to 62.3%. Local generation of Electricity totalled 300 million kWh, up by 10.6% quarter-to-quarter. Imports of Natural Gas for electricity generation increased by 26.6% from the previous quarter to 53.55 million cubic metres in the first quarter. In the first quarter of 2011, consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) increased by 14.4% quarter-to-quarter to 12,417 tonnes, of which consumption by the Business sector (8,477 tonnes) and Households (3,868 tonnes) rose by 16.4% and 10.5% respectively. Meanwhile, imports of LPG increased by 25.0% from the previous quarter to 13,306 tonnes, with the average price of imports rising by 7.5% to MOP9.05 per kg. On account of higher prices of imports, the selling price of all types of fuels increased further in the first quarter of 2011; the average price of Unleaded Gasoline rose by 9.3% from MOP10.36 per litre in the fourth quarter of 2010 to MOP11.32 per litre, while that of Bottled LPG increased by 7.5% to MOP14.57 per kg. At the end of the first quarter of 2011, stock of LPG (3,047 tonnes), Gas oil & diesel (23.07 million litres) and Fuel Oil (13.18 million litres) registered quarter-to-quarter increase of 44.2%, 9.1% and 4.1% respectively.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (22nd May 16:01 till 23rd May 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 0.1405μGy/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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The Monetary Authority of Macao released today the credit card statistics for the first quarter of 2011. The total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 448,124 at the end of March 2011, representing an increase of 5.0% from a quarter ago. The numbers of Pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) cards and Renminbi (RMB) cards were 350,328, 61,848 and 35,948 respectively. MOP cards, HKD cards and RMB cards witnessed respective increases of 3.8%, 3.2% and 21.9% quarter-to-quarter. On an annual basis, RMB cards soared 105.3% while MOP cards and HKD cards rose 19.0% and 10.1% respectively. As at the end of March 2011, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP7.9 billion, up 3.7% from end-December 2010. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP1.2 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP0.4 billion, accounting for 37.7% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, was 0.95%. In the first quarter of 2011, the credit card turnover dropped by 7.7% quarter-to-quarter to MOP2.3 billion. The cash advance turnover was MOP0.1 billion, accounting for 5.4% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, edged up 3.5% from the previous quarter to MOP2.5 billion.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that total visitor arrivals increased by 10.7% year-on-year to 2,338,449 in April 2011. Same-day visitors (1,271,544) accounted for 54.4% of total visitor arrivals, with 694,935 coming from Mainland China. Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from Mainland China increased by 20.7% year-on-year to 1,270,753 (54.3% of total visitor arrivals), mostly coming from Guangdong Province (628,970), Fujian Province (76,145) and Zhejiang Province (47,188); those travelling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme totalled 495,424, up by 27.0% year-on-year. Visitors from Hong Kong (709,053) and the Republic of Korea (25,865) increased by 2.1% and 2.4% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (110,410); Malaysia (27,122) and Thailand (24,468) decreased by 1.3%, 10.8% and 3.6% respectively. Total visitor arrivals reached 8,769,627 in the first four months of 2011, up by 6.6% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (4,949,705), Hong Kong (2,488,047) and the Republic of Korea (132,295) increased by 12.8%, 2.8% and 22.0% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (385,962); Japan (123,814) and Malaysia (102,276) decreased by 12.7%, 6.5% and 11.6% respectively. In the first four months of 2011, same-day visitors accounted for 54.6% of the total, at 4,790,205. Analyzed by mode of transport, visitor arrivals by sea totalled 3,455,019 in the first four months of 2011, up by 1.9% year-on-year. Visitors arriving at the Outer Harbour increased by 6.1% to 2,293,234, with the majority coming from Hong Kong (54.2%) and Mainland China (24.7%); meanwhile, those arriving at the Provisional Ferry Terminal in Taipa decreased by 8.3% to 1,015,032. Visitor arrivals by land increased by 12.2% year-on-year to 4,780,144 in the first four months of 2011; those arriving through the Border Gate totalled 4,422,097 and the majority were visitors from Mainland China (80.2%) and Hong Kong (13.8%). Visitor arrivals by air decreased by 6.8% year-on-year to 534,464. Visitors arriving at the Macao International Airport went down by 7.1% to 526,334, with the majority coming from Mainland China (36.6%); Taiwan, China (33.3%); and Malaysia (6.7%).
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The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) via her representation office in Hong Kong presents the promotional campaign for Hong Kong market – "Macau Fun Every Month", and stages the 'Macau Fun Every Month" exhibition on 21 and 22 May (Saturday and Sunday) at the Miramar Shopping Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. The promotion campaign – "Macau Fun Every Month" runs from May to December with selected Hong Kong travel agents, offering thematic tour packages for different market segments, such as families, elderly, students, couples, among others, to visit Macau. The design of the "Macau Fun Every Month" exhibition integrates the characteristics of Chinese and Western architectures in Macau, with a display backdrop under the theme of "Experience Macau in style". Also, an interactive touch screen is placed at the exhibition to present the contents of the "Experience Macau in Style" booklets as well as the promotional offers and suggested travel routes from the "Macau Fun Every Month" campaign. "Experience Macau in Style" booklets, Macau travel information and souvenirs are distributed at the exhibition.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (21st May 16:01 till 22nd May 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 0.1431μGy/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 (20th May 16:01 till 21st May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1152 and 0.1300μGy/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 (19th May 16:01 till 20th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1291μGy/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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In its latest 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' conducted on 17th May, Consumer Council added 21 new product samples including biscuits, snacks and candies to the current list. In comparison with last month's data, the recent survey showed that prices of tissue paper had remained quite stable, and a slight increase was observed in the prices of cooking oil. Among the 242 surveyed product samples, 60 samples recorded decrease in prices, 53 items remained unchanged. 5 out of 7 samples of tissue papers recorded slight increase in prices. Cooking oil, which recorded price increases in the last three months, kept on showing slight price rises in the recent survey. Consumer Council also conducted a specific price survey report on canned foods on 16th May. Prices of 10 canned food items were recorded in 22 retail outlets. A price difference of the same brand selling in different retail outlets amounted to 8% to over 50% was observed. Consumers are therefore advised to check with the above mentioned reports for the most updated price. Consumer Council has optimized its website with regard to the online search of data on its 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' and specific price survey report. Consumers can choose the items of their interest and use our online search function to interactively compare the retail prices of their chosen items at various retail outlets. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey Report' and specific price survey report on canned foods are now accessible on the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo). Reports are also available free of charge at the two offices of the Consumer Council, local markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. For inquiries, please call 8988 9315
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