News

Organized by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre the Seminar on “Cultural Diversity and Human Rights: A Good Match?”, Monday, 27 September, at 17:00, starts tomorrow, in the Auditorium of the Economic Services in the Luso-International Bank Building. Integrated in 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Program in the Legal Field, the seminar will have as a speaker Doctor Yvonne Donders, Associate Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam and Executive Director of the of Amsterdam Center for International Law. This seminar will be conducted in English, with simultaneous translation to Cantonese and Portuguese, and has 32 participants enrolled. During the four daily sessions, taking place between 17:00 and 19:30, until the 30th September, the following subjects will be discussed: the International Human Rights Law Framework; Cultural Diversity and Human Rights; Cultural Human Rights; Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. Highlight is thus given to the relationship between cultural diversity and human rights. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, in which this seminar is integrated, has as its main objective the “Strengthening the Future of the Macao Legal System” and will be undertaken until December 2012. With a global budget of 1.500.000 Euros (approximately 16.500.000 Patacas), this programme is co-financed by the European Union and the Macao Foundation, with the remaining costs being supported by the MSAR’s budget. The implementation of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the International Law Office (GADI), with the participation of several other MSAR’s entities, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (CFJJ), the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ), the Economic Services (DSE), the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) and the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM).
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Chief Executive Mr Chui Sai On’s official visit to Jiangxi with his official delegation Province had been aborted due to bad weather there. A statement by the Office of the Chief Executive said Mr Chui and his delegation left Macao this morning for Nanchang in Jiangxi to attend Expo Central China 2010. The plane returned to Macau for safety reasons when it could not land in Nanchang airport due to bad weather. It returned safely in the afternoon.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today the Government would soon introduce measures to ensure the healthy development of the housing market. Speaking to the press at the airport before leaving for Jiangxi Province for a trade promotion exposition, Mr Chui said he fully understood the community’s concern over polices for the healthy development of the housing market. He said the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, would announce a series of measures next week, after having consulted diverse sectors and public entities. These would include mortgage guidelines to banks, regulations on pre-completion sales, real estate agency, market transparency, as well as new taxation measures and land supply. Mr Chui said the Government would continue with its public housing policies and had lately increased the rent subsidy to applicants waiting for public housing.
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September 25, 2010 After receiving a complain, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), together with the Public Security Police Force (PSP), carried inspections to a premise suspected to provide accommodation illegally, which was undergoing renovation works, and where four illegal workers were found. The cases of the illegal workers were handed to PSP. After inspections to the site it was concluded that it was not a case of a premise providing accommodation illegally. Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, a total of 505 premises were checked, of which 67 premises suspected to provide accommodation illegally were sealed, while 62 were normal residences. Ensuing investigations on the rest of the premises have been launched. Among the checked premises, some were vacant or unoccupied. MGTO and the 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 help the investigations, when necessary, MGTO can request a judicial order to enter into the suspect premises to investigate. To date, the operations involved more than 540 occupants, among whom 297 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 10 illegal immigrants. 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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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) organized an exciting Tray Race and the World Tourism Day banquet today (September 24) to celebrate "World Tourism Day 2010" in advance. The official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2010 will be launched on September 27th in Guangzhou. This is the first time for China to be the host country of World Tourism Day, and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government Dr Cheong U will lead a delegation from MGTO to Guangzhou to take part in the event. MGTO hosted a series of activities in Macau today to celebrate “World Tourism Day” in advance. Director of MGTO, João Manuel Costa Antunes and Deputy Directors Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Manuel Pires presented welcome gifts to lucky tourists at the Macau Ferry Terminal in the morning. Souvenirs were also distributed to visitors at MGTO Information Counters throughout the day. Traveling with her son, Ms Lu from Beijing was the lucky tourist of this year's World Tourism Day. Citing that it was her first visit to Macau, Ms Lu wanted to see Macau’s development after returning to the Motherland and expressed that she would visit Macau again in the future. Ms Lu was given a World Heritage souvenir and shopping coupon as gifts. The traditional Tray Race was held in the afternoon, where waiters and waitresses ran down the stoned-path from the Ruins of St Paul's to Senado Square carrying a tray with a bottle of beer on it. The race attracted the highest number of participants this year, totaling 206 waiters and waitresses from 30 hotels and restaurants in Macau. Crowds of visitors and locals cheered for the participants. The winner of the men's division was Zhao Gang from Hotel Grand Lisboa and the winner of the women's division was Li Fu Ling from The Venetian Macau-Resort-Hotel. The Best Costume Awards went to Roberto Garrone of Grand Hyatt Macau and Wong Pui San of Hard Rock Hotel. In the evening, MGTO held a dinner banquet, attended by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U, MGTO officials and travel trade representatives to celebrate "World Tourism Day". Speaking at the dinner, Secretary Cheong expressed, " Macau is positioned as a global center of tourism and leisure, while moving towards diversification. The SAR government is also developing cultural and creative industries, which will be integrated with tourism to realize the potential of cultural tourism. I believe the diversification of Macau would appeal to visitors of different interests from around the world." “The continuous opening of new tourism facilities is bound to bring new opportunities to Macau, while at the same time posing challenges of human resources and service quality. We look forward to the support and cooperation of our travel trade partners in enhancing both hardware and software so as to provide honest and quality service to our visitors,” he continued. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in the third session of its General Assembly in Spain (September 1979), decided to designate September 27 as the annual "World Tourism Day". This is the 31st year since the celebrations commenced in 1980. The main purpose of "World Tourism Day" is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values. Each year, World Tourism Organization selects a different theme for "World Tourism Day". This year is the 31st anniversary of World Tourism Day and the theme is “Tourism and Biodiversity”. The official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2010 will be launched on September 27th in Guangzhou, with more than 160 countries and regions also carrying out activities to celebrate the day. For more details check http://www.unwto.org/worldtourismday/index.php?lang=E
This press release is available on www.macautourism.gov.mo
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Since the law on "Prohibition of Providing Illegal Accommodation" took effect on August 13, a total of 491 premises were checked, of which 66 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 535 occupants, among whom 294 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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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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