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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (15th May 16:01 till 16th May 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 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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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP208.4 billion (USD26.04 billion) at the end of April 2011. The reserves rose by 2.1% from the revised value of MOP204.1 billion (USD25.45 billion) for the previous month. When compared with a year earlier, the reserves increased by MOP51.2 billion or 32.5%. Macao SAR's foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2011 represented 37 times the currency in circulation or 297.1% of Pataca M2 at end-March 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 0.57 points month-to-month and 3.42 points year-on-year to 87.15 in April 2011.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that total land area of Macao measured 29.7 km2 at the end of 2010, up by 0.7% year-on-year; the population density remained unchanged from 2009, at 18,000 people per km2. Total lane length of public roads was 413.4 km, and the motor vehicle density was 476 vehicles per km. Observation results of the 5 monitoring stations revealed that the air quality level was classified as Good for most of the days in 2010. Of which, the Rua do Campo roadside air quality monitoring station recorded 289 days of good air quality in 2010. However, the monitoring stations at the Northern District and Rua do Campo each registered 7 days when the observed value of respirable suspended particulates exceeded the standard value. In 2010, the lowest pH value of rainwater was 3.4 (precipitation with pH value lower than 5.6 is classified as acid rain). The quality of potable water from the distribution network and Water Treatment Plants of Macao conformed to the standard according to the results of the analysis carried out by the Laboratory of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau. The salinity level of potable water was classified as Low in 2010. The approval rate of water samples taken from the 10 public swimming pools ranged from 83% to 100%. In addition, water quality of the Hac Sa and Cheoc Van beaches was acceptable. Macau Waste Systems Company Limited (CSR) collected 165,000 tonnes of domestic garbage and 89,000 tonnes of garbage from the business sector, up by 3.2% and 2.0% respectively over 2009, volume of construction waste increased notably by 24.7% to 1,954,000 m3. Moreover, 321,000 tonnes of garbage were processed in the Incineration Plant, down slightly by 1.0% year-on-year. In 2010, the average capacity of waste water treated was 188,000 m3 per day, up by 3.4% over 2009. A total of 5,661 cases of noise complaints were reported in 2010, up by 24.9% year-on-year, mostly about noise from disturbance from neighbours and construction works. With regard to educational activities on environmental protection, the Environmental Protection Bureau and the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau organized 514 promotional activities in 2010, with approximately 475,000 participants.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (15th May 10:01 till 16th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1160 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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The Cultural Affairs Bureau would like to inform our esteemed public that, due to the current inclement weather conditions, the nightly performances of "Encounters: St. Paul's Ruins Audiovisual Mapping", featured in the 22nd Macao Arts Festival, scheduled for 8pm and 9pm on the 13th through the 22nd of May, outdoors at the Ruins of St. Paul's, will be cancelled in the event that it is raining at 6pm on the evening in question. We apologise for the inconvenience.
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To allow the graduating class of Heritage Management Programme to gain further international exposure to heritage management practices and situations, a fieldtrip to the Historic Town of Vigan, one of the four UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Philippines was organised by Institute for Tourism Studies. Thirty-one students of IFT's Heritage Management Programme and two faculty members took part in the fieldtrip from 10 to 16 April 2011. Established in 2005, the IFT Bachelor of Science in Heritage Management is a pioneer in the region in the delivery of heritage management focused training to future leaders and managers in the heritage field. According to UNESCO documents, Vigan was established in the 16th century by the Spanish colonial powers as a trading post and it is today "the best-preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia". Vigan's architecture expresses the fusion of cultural elements from elsewhere in the Philippines, from China and from Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that "have no parallel anywhere in East and South-East Asia". Macao and Vigan have many things in common: both have similar colonial past, were trading ports and are similar in scale. Moreover, both of them have urban cores that have been inscribed on the UNESCO's World Heritage List. The field study trip comprised of five full days of workshop and fieldwork. IFT students and faculty members were warmly welcomed and received by the University of Northern Philippines (UNP). Faculty members and students from the tourism and architecture programmes of UNP worked jointly with the IFT students and faculty members. For the five field study days, students alternated between indoor workshop discussion with their IFT and UNP teammates, local resource people and facilitators drawn from the local tourism council, Mayor's office, conservation council and their instructors, and independent fieldwork at their respective study sites. Some students revealed that the field study trip helped them develop deep understanding of the complex issues of World Heritage management in general and the management process of a World Heritage Town in particular. Moreover, being in a foreign country, the involvement of local students in the learning process and extended interactions with stakeholders helped the students learn how to deal with heritage issues in an unfamiliar place and culture, a situation often encountered by professionals working in the heritage management field.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (12th May 16:01 till 13th 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 0.1335μGy/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 (12th May 10:01 till 13th May 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1169 and 0.1283μGy/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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 2.3% year-on-year to 498,972 in March 2011. Visitors from Mainland China (364,333); Taiwan, China (26,760); and the Republic of Korea (19,912) increased by 2.5%, 6.1% and 40.5% respectively. However, decrease was observed in the visitors coming from Japan (19,452), Hong Kong (19,125), Thailand (10,072) and Malaysia (9,305). In the first quarter of 2011, visitor arrivals in package tours decreased by 1.8% year-on-year to 1,407,876. In March 2011, Macao residents travelling outbound in package tours decreased by 13.3% year-on-year to 16,042, attributable to the notable decrease in residents travelled in package tour to Japan (-83.1%). The most popular tour itineraries were Mainland China (82.5% of total); Thailand (3.8%); and Taiwan, China (3.8%). In the first quarter of 2011, outbound residents in package tours increased by 6.7% year-on-year to 54,998. Meanwhile, outbound residents travelling under own arrangements using services of travel agencies increased by 18.9% year-on-year to 41,371; the main destinations were Mainland China (41.1% of total); Hong Kong (20.3%); Taiwan, China (19.8%); and Thailand (7.2%). In the first quarter of 2011, outbound residents travelling under such arrangements increased by 25.6% year-on-year to 126,540. At the end of March 2011, total number of available guest rooms of hotels and guest-houses increased by 981 (+5.1%) year-on-year to 20,129 rooms, with that of 5-star hotels (12,035) accounting for 59.8% of the total. Hotels and guest-houses received 677,869 guests in March 2011, up by 6.0% year-on-year, with the majority coming from Mainland China (55.1% of total) and Hong Kong (18.0%). The average length of stay of guests decreased by 0.01 night to 1.5 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses was 81.4%, up by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year; average occupancy rate of hotels stood at 82.0%, with 4-star hotels leading at 88.1% and the average for 5-star hotels reached 79.4%. Hotel guests increased by 1.9% year-on-year to 1,918,955 in the first quarter of 2011; average occupancy rate of hotels and guest-houses stood at 81.0%, up by 1.9 percentage point compared with 79.1% from a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2011, visitor-guests of hotels and guest-houses accounted for 61.5% of the total number of tourists (overnight visitors), higher than 60.6% in the same period of 2010.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (11th May 16:01 till 12th 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 0.1283μGy/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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