News

Work on a new facility to alleviate the saturated capacity of the present Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal has been completed, it was announced today. The Co-ordinator of a group representing eight departments which was set up to monitor the construction of the Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal, Ms Wong Soi Man, said a ceremony will be held next Tuesday (16 October) to celebrate the completion of the project. Ms Wong, who is also the Director of Port Authority, said as the number of visitors continued to increase every year and the Taipa ferry terminal would not be completed until the end of 2009, it was necessary to build a temporary terminal. She said the temporary terminal would complement the policy of developing the conference and exhibition industry in Macao, which facilities have recently came on stream. The new maritime facility, costing 2.18 billion patacas, has three berths that could accommodate two 300-400 passengers vessels and one 1000-1200 passengers vessel at one time, according to the Director of the Office for Infrastructure Development, Mr António José Castanheira Lourenço. The acting Chief of Transportation Department of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, Mr Cheong Ion Man, said the terminal could be reached on buses numbers 21, 26, AP1, MT1 and MT2. Members of the cross-government departments group comprised the Port Authority, the Office of Infrastructure Development, Office of the Secretary for Security, Land, Public Works and Transport, Macao Customs Services, Public Security Forces Affairs Bureau, Public Security Police Force and Fire Services Bureau.
…

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is organizing a new series of seminar for professionals interested in convention and exhibitions organization, with the first being held today. The speakers are MGTO’s consultants on business tourism development, Gary Grimmer and Mike Williams. The seminars are divided into two main topics, “Meetings Business: Getting Your Share” and “Building Your Business: Developing the Convention and Incentive Market for Macau”, each involving a several day training program. “Meetings Business: Getting Your Share” is a four day training series, to be held today, October 15, December 4 and 11. The seminars target top sales, marketing and service managers of business that have an involvement or interest in the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry. The “Building Your Business: Developing the Convention and Incentive Market for Macau” training series will be held on October 16 and December 6. This training series are tailored for owners and operators of business that have an involvement and interest in the MICE industry. The training series aim to help participants understand the MICE market, how it is changing, how customers think, how to be more successful in their sales and customer service, the sales opportunities that are being created and how to get involved. MGTO director, João Manuel Costa Antunes, said “MGTO has been giving its full support to the development of the business tourism industry in Macau, actively contributing to the implementation of the government policies for this area. In this regard, the task of training is fundamental. The organization of training programs enables the Macau convention and exhibitions industry to improve its performance, which is essential for its development. To conduct the seminars, we have invited two distinguished experts with rich experience in the conventions industry that we hope can provide fresh information and ideas.” He added that “for more than a year, the MGTO’s Macau Business Tourism Centre has been coordinating, supporting and organizing business tourism activities and training programs. In the next two years, various mega-conventions will be held in Macau and the Centre will continue to perform its role in the facilitation of the development of business tourism in Macau.” The speakers of the seminars are two experienced, well-connected and knowledgeable MICE experts. Gary Grimmer is the CEO of the international consultant company on business tourism Gary Grimmer & Company. Prior to starting is own company, he was CEO of the Convention Bureau in Melbourne, Australia, and bureaux of Portland and Albuquerque, in the US. He also serves as chairman of ConventionWorks, a global convention industry consulting network. Born in the US, he lives in Australia. Mike Williams joined Gary Grimmer & Company as senior consultant in February, 2007. Prior to that he served as general manager sales of the Melbourne Convention Bureau where he led the community’s bid teams to secure major international and national business events to the city. He also oversaw strategic planning and marketing programs within the Bureau. This press release is available at: www.macautourism.gov.mo
…

Macau International Airport will conduct a biennial “full-scale emergency exercise” from 04:00 to 07:00 on 12 October 2007, which has been scheduled in the 2007 year plan by the Facilitation and Security Committee. The exercise will simulate an accident of an aircraft that lands hard on the runway. The aircraft disintegrates and the passengers encounter different injuries. The objective of the exercise is to provide continuous training to the airport personnel for equipping them with the adequate capacity to activate the contingency measures and procedures in case of an emergency. Coordinated by the Administration of Airports Ltd., the exercise will involve the participation of all the entities responsible for the safety and the security of the Macao airport. In accordance with the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization, exercises simulating real situations shall be performed periodically to test and evaluate airport emergency plans. To ensure that Macau International Airport is a safe and secure airport in the world, two exercises are carried out every year to simulate serious incidents likely to be encountered and to assess the capacity of the airport personnel and the cooperation among them in dealing with such emergencies.
…

To cope with the 12th Macao International Trade & Investment Fair, Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at Venetian Macao Convention & Exhibition Center, on 18th to 21st October 2007, providing the commemorative postmark cancellation service for the “12th Macao International Trade & Investment Fair”. A commemorative envelope priced at MOP2.00 will be issued, together with the various philatelic products available for sale during the above activity. The service hours are as following: 18/10/2007 12H00 to 18H00
19-20/10/2007 10H00 to 18H00
21/10/2007 10H00 to 17H00 Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
…

Respond to the Universal Postal Union for the celebration of the World Post Day, the Postal Administration achieves various activities relative to this event. Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at our Philately Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters and the Communications Museum on 9th October 2007 providing the commemorative cancellation service for the “World Post Day – UPU”. Opening hours as following: Philately Shop of Macao Post Headquarters: 9H00 – 17H30 Philately Shop of
Communications Museum: 9H30 – 17H30 A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
…

Respond to the Universal Postal Union for the celebration of the World Post Day, the Postal Administration achieves various activities relative to this event. Macao Post announced that a Temporary Post Counter will be set up at our Philately Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters and the Communications Museum on 9th October 2007 providing the commemorative cancellation service for the “World Post Day – UPU”. Opening hours as following: Philately Shop of Macao Post Headquarters: 9H00 – 17H30 Philately Shop of
Communications Museum: 9H30 – 17H30 A commemorative envelope will be distributed to public, and various philatelic products will also be available for sale during the above activity. Welcome to visit and collect Macao Stamps.
…

Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,252,744
crossing the six immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR from 29th September to 1st October 2007. Total number of arrivals stood at 641,005
with Border-gate: 484,514
Lotus Bridge: 15,828
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 115,622
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 10,139
Macao International Airport: 14,247
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 655 Total of departures stood at 611,739
with Border-gate: 463,285
Lotus Bridge: 12,423
Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal: 111,501
Inner Harbour Wharf Nº14: 5,684
Macao International Airport: 18,216
Zhuhai-Macao Crossborder Industrial Zone: 630 Meanwhile, total number of tourist arrivals in that period stood at 351,737
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is in Shanghai today for the opening ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Mr Ho attended a luncheon hosted by President Hu Jintao for foreign guests attending the ceremony. In the afternoon, Mr Ho had a meeting with the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Han Zheng, at which they exchanged ideas on the current situation of the two cities. On behalf of Shanghai Municipal Government, Mr Han invited the Chief Executive to visit next year, and Mr Ho gladly accepted the invitation. Mr Ho also attended the opening of the Games before returning to Macao in the evening.
…

France’s Artifices JCO netted the top prize in the Wynn Macau – 19th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest at a ceremony held at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center on October 1. Macau Government Tourist Director João Manuel Costa Antunes presented the trophy and prize to the winner. The winner also received a trophy from the title sponsor – Wynn Macau which handed by Wynn Macau President and General Manager, Mr Ian Coughlan The winner also received US$6,000 and a certificate while Chinese Taiwan’s San Tai Fireworks Ind. Co.Ltd, the first runner up and Japan’s Marutamaya Ogatsu Fireworks Co. Ltd, second runner up won US$3,200 and US$1,800 respectively, plus trophies and certificates. The contest this year featured ten teams from United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Chinese Taiwan, Portugal, the Philippines, United States of America, Japan, France and China Mr. Antunes noted in his speech that Macau Government Tourist Office will continue to organize more promotional activities with features to enrich the tourism resources of Macau as well as to boost its charm. They will also strive to improve year on year the quality and standard of the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. The organizer arranged the last two fireworks shows on National Day, with marvelous fireworks displays from the last two teams - China’s Hunan Xintiancheng Fireworks Manufacturing Co., Ltd and Artifices JCO SA. from France to celebrate this special occasion and marked the finale of the Wynn Macau – 19th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. To add festive atmosphere to the fireworks display contest, MGTO and the General Union of Neighbors Association of Macau jointly presented the Fireworks Carnival 2007 on the shorefront beside the Macau Tower on each of the fireworks display nights, offering an array of live entertainment, cultural activities and culinary delights. This year again, each participating team complemented their displays with carefully selected music, ranging from rock to orchestra, to enthrall the audience with a light and sound spectacular. The Macau International Fireworks Display Contest, organized by Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), has always been an important and renowned event. This year Wynn Macau is the title sponsor again for the International Fireworks Display Contest. The annual glamorous fireworks displays, together with the colorful activities have become a signature event that brings splendid experience to the public and visitors in Macau.
…

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is to visit Shanghai on Tuesday to attend the opening ceremony of the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. During his one-day visit to the coastal municipality, Mr Ho will attend a banquet hosted by leading officials of Shanghai and the opening of the games, before returning to Macao in the evening. The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Florinda Chan, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Ho is away.
…