News

The Macao SAR Civil Aviation Authority has the following updates on the VIVA Macau Flight Service incident: The Flight scheduled to leave yesterday for Tokyo had taken off this morning( 27 March) at 08:44 The Flight scheduled to leave for Ho Chi Minh City had taken off this morning at 07:05 The SAR Government urges all passengers holding VIVA Macau tickets who have not yet embarked on their journey to check on the latest situation before heading to the airport.
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The Macau SAR Government is concerned about VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service due to operational problems and has taken emergency measures to assist over 300 immediately affected passengers. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was notified by the Macau International Airport that VIVA Macau, who failed to settle its fuel charge, has delayed and cancelled respectively its services to Jakarta and Tokyo today, causing over 300 passengers to be stranded at the airport. The SAR Government is very concerned about the impact this incident has on the passengers as well as the aviation and tourism sectors, and has taken immediate measures to assist the affected passengers. Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) and CAA held a press conference regarding VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service to announce the government’s contingency measures and the latest development of the incident to the public. President of the Civil Aviation Authority Chan Weng Hong expressed that the SAR Government has activated the emergency response mechanism and coordinated related departments, Macau International Airport and relevant entities for urgent arrangements. Chan Weng Hong pointed out that in order to offer timely assistance to passengers immediately affected by the incident, the SAR Government has coordinated with the fuel company to enable the flight which was scheduled to depart for Jakarta this afternoon (26) to take off at 10pm. Regarding the flight scheduled to depart for Tokyo this afternoon, the SAR Government has demanded VIVA Macau to fulfill its commercial obligation and VIVA Macau has promised to provide hotel accommodation for the stranded passengers. The SAR Government urges all passengers holding VIVA Macau tickets who have not yet embarked on their journey to check on the latest situation before heading to the airport. Chan expressed that the SAR Government will closely monitor the development of the situation and continue to provide assistance to affected passengers through the emergency response mechanism. If necessary, resolute measures will be taken when appropriate to assist affected passengers. Chan emphasized that, as a responsible commercial entity, it is compulsory to cater well for its passengers. The SAR Government is deeply disappointed and expresses regret with VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service due to operational problems having affected a large number of passengers. Updated information about the incident will be released on Tourism Crisis Management Office’s website: www.ggct.gov.mo
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The Government has offered 60 million Renminbi for relief in the three most seriously drought affected provinces in the Mainland. Highly concerned with the gravity of the situation, it approved two million Renminbi each for Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi after having been given update information on the situation by the Central Government. The Government would maintain close contact with the Central Government and would fully support drought relief efforts.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released summary of the GDP for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2009. The rates of change mentioned in the text refer to the year-on-year change, unless otherwise specified. GDP for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2009 The global financial crisis remained severe in the first half of 2009, impelling countries to map out market rescue measures in order to withstand the damage to their economies; meanwhile, the international community has stepped up cooperation and dialogue in response to the tremendous impact of the world financial crisis. The preliminary effect has been achieved by the middle of the year, as the economies of Europe, the US and Japan turned stable basically while the Mainland economy returned to the state of high economic growth. The economy of Macao was unavoidably affected by the less favourable world economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) for the first half of the year contracted by 13.4% in real terms, attributable to decrease in gross gaming revenue, total visitor spending and gross fixed capital formation, as well as further decline in merchandise export. On account of the surge in exports of gaming services, the economy of Macao was back to the growth track in the third quarter and soared substantially by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing the economy to expand by 17.9% in real terms in the second half of 2009. For the whole year of 2009, Macao’s GDP rose by 1.3% in real terms to MOP 169.34 billion, with per-capita GDP amounting to MOP 311,131 (US$ 38,968). Rate of economic growth for the second and third quarters was revised upward from -15.3% and 8.2% to -14.8% and 8.8% respectively in real terms. The favourable factors contributing to Macao’s economic growth in 2009 included: Ÿ gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) increased by 9.6% compared with 2008; Ÿ hotel guests increased by 2.7%; Ÿ rising value of retail sales and median monthly employment earnings;
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the unemployment rate for December 2009 - February 2010 was 2.9%, down by 0.1 percentage point over the previous period (November 2009 - January 2010); the underemployment rate was 1.8%, up by 0.1 percentage point. Total labour force was 322,000 in December 2009 - February 2010 and the labour force participation rate stood at 71.0%, with the employed population increasing by 1,300 over the previous period to 313,000. Analyzed by industry, employment of the Retail Trade increased from the previous period, while that of the Restaurants & Similar Activities registered a decrease. In December 2009 - February 2010, number of the unemployed decreased by about 300 from the previous period to 9,200, with 8.6% being fresh labour force entrants searching for their first job, down by 1.4 percentage points. In comparison with December 2008 - February 2009, the labour force participation rate and the unemployment rate dropped by 1.4 and 0.7 percentage point respectively; meanwhile, the underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages of the Gaming Sector for the fourth quarter of 2009. Survey coverage excluded junket promoters and junket associates. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, the Gaming Sector had 44,020 employees, up slightly by 0.4% year-on-year. Analyzed by occupations that are directly related to betting services, 18,274 were dealers, up slightly by 0.4% year-on-year; 12,040 were hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc., up by 1.4%. Meanwhile, 5,283 were casino & slot machine attendants, security guards, surveillance room operators, etc., up by 4.4% from a year earlier. In December 2009, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) for full-time employees dropped by 3.4% year-on-year to MOP 15,100. The average earnings for dealers fell by 4.9% over December 2008 to MOP 13,270, and that for hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc. stood at MOP 18,400, down by 5.7%. The average earnings for casino & slot machine attendants, security guards, surveillance room operators, etc. registered a year-on-year increase of 4.7% to MOP 10,060. At the end of December 2009, number of vacancies of the Gaming Sector increased by 48.1% year-on-year to 382, with 114 for dealers, 57 for hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc. and 66 for casino & slot machine attendants, security guards, surveillance room operators, etc. As regards recruitment prerequisites, 69.9% of the vacancies required no working experience; 52.4% required senior secondary education or higher. Other preferred language skills were Mandarin (55.0%) and English (51.0%). With respect to the indicators that measure the inflow and outflow of human resources, as well as staffing needs of the sector, the employee turnover rate and recruitment rate of the Gaming Sector were 4.1% and 4.9% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2009, while the job vacancy rate was 0.9%.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Embassy in Thailand had issued a travel notice to Chinese citizens as recent news stories indicated that some local organizations would engage in large-scale protest activities in Thailand on 27 March. On 23 March, the Cabinet Meeting of the Thai Government authorized the extension of the enforcement of Internal Security Act (ISA) in Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi until 30 March.
The Tourism Crisis Management Office would like to remind the Macao residents who are planning to travel to Thailand should monitor the situation there or adjust travel itineraries if necessary. As for those who are currently travelling in Thailand, please avoid visiting protest locations and remain cautious for personal safety. In case of any emergency, please report to the local police and contact the Chinese Embassy in Thailand - Chinese Embassy in Bangkok (Tel: (66) 2-2457044). Macao residents may also call the Macau Tourism Hotline: (853) 28333000 for assistance. Mainland residents and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may also contact the Centre for Consular Assistance and Protection of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for assistance（Tel: (86)10-65964086）.
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Tourism Event Management and Heritage Management major Second Year Students of the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT), is organising “Macao Slow Food 2010 – Food Heritage of The Macanese” at IFT on 14 May, 2010 (Friday). All profits generated from the event will be donated to charity. Macao Slow Food events have been organised by Tourism Event Management Students in the past 3 years. This year is the first time to have the participation of the Heritage Management Students for enriching the content of the slow food movement.
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In order to raise the staff and students awareness to fire safety on campus, the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) organised a fire drill in Taipa Campus on 19 March. As a higher education institution, IFT believes that it is important for the public and all industries to be aware of fire hazards to minimise the loss of life and properties and give our visitors peace of mind. IFT has strategically started the occupational safety and health scheme on campus since 2000. The Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental Committee has invited Macau Red Cross deliver first aid courses for staff and organised fire precaution seminar at the Fire Services Department. With the assistance of the Fire Services Department (by advising on firefighting equipment and examining the campus surrounding to lay down the evacuation routes), an emergency plan was drafted to give staff, students and guests at the training units clear instructions of evacuation in case of fire. IFT organises fire drills every year and this time it took place at the new Taipa Campus, which began operation in September 2009. 380 staff and students completed the drill in 7 minutes, which was less than the “golden 8 minutes” suggested by the Fire Services Department. The drill required the participants to put together all the skills learnt in first aids, fire control and emergency evacuation. IFT has invited the Fire Services Department to observe the drill and gave valuable comment to improve the whole process. In addition to the regular fire drill, IFT also concerns the occupational health and safety and working environmental of the staff. Until 2010, more than 80 staff have joined fire precaution seminars and trainings on the use of fire extinguishers. Safety of travelers has great impact on the development of our tourism industry. Therefore, it is important to enhance our students’ knowledge on fire precaution which when they join the tourism industry, to build up a positive image of Macao as a beautiful and safe travel destination.
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With the objective of assisting local enterprises to make the best use of the Internet for marketing and business development, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) reorganizes ‘Macau e-com’ website to further introduce e-commerce support services and to provide more internet resources. Local enterprises can acquire information about IPIM’s e-comemrce support services and general e-commerce knowledge on the website. “Macau e-com” introduces content and application guidelines of ‘E-Commerce Promotion Incentive Measures’, hyperlinks to various e-commerce operators, related regulations and laws, event news and frequently-asked-questions (FAQs), etc. For facilitating applying enterprises, an online application of the above ‘measures’ has also been in service. For the purpose of assisting local enterprises to develop their business by making good use of the Internet, IPIM has introduced ‘E-Commerce Promotion Incentive Measures’ last November to subsidize local enterprises promoting business online, with a cover up to 70% of the publicity expenses and an annual total limit of MOP20,000 for each enterprise. In order to present more IPIM e-commerce resources and services materials, an ‘E-Commerce Demonstration Area’, equipped with touch-screen computers and copies of related materials, has been established at Macao Business Support Center of IPIM. For more information, please log on ‘Macau e-com’ website at: http://ecom.ipim.gov.mo/, or contact IPIM’s SMEC at 28728212.
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