News

In today’s competitive environment, brands have become increasingly important assets to businesses as customers often associate brands with concepts of quality, trustworthiness, prestige and value, and base purchase decisions on their identification with the brands. Realising this important asset in hospitality management, the Institute For Tourism Studies will co-organise an Executive Development Programme in Brand Management with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, on 16 – 17 March. The two-day programme draws industry leaders and practitioners’ attention to issues in developing, managing and evaluating global brand leadership strategies. Participants will discover how creating a coherent brand experience requires the alignment of every touch point in the organization with a customer value proposition. Over the two days, participants will be familiarised with: l Developing brand identities
l Developing brand-building programmes
l Management of brand equity
l Brand leveraging and brand extension
l The process of brand orientation
l Product and service strategies l Customer value proposition
l How to market brands The programme will be conducted by Prof. André Mack. Prof. Mack has an extensive career in the in-flight catering industry and management consulting. He specialized in the areas of strategic marketing, customizer service and business process re-engineering. He is both Director, Lausanne Hospitality Consulting, and a faculty member of Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, lecturing on project management and consulting. The Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland, is the first and leading hospitality school founded in 1893. EHL provides solid hospitality management education based on the philosophy that hospitality management is both a science and an art. Its approach emphasizes not only the technique but also the culture of hospitality: the mixture of tangible and intangible elements that make up this unique industry. The establishment of this partnership has once again proven the international recognition of IFT’s teaching quality. As one of the leading tourism and hospitality education institutions in Macao and Asia Pacific, IFT will continue to provide top-notch programmes and contribute to the sustainable development of the industry. More information about the programme and application can be found on http://www.ift.edu.mo/edp/brand2010/ or contact Ms. Sandi U at 8506 1281 for enquiry.
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The Historical Archives of Macao will hold another of its popular binding workshops on Saturday 6th of February from 2pm to 5pm. This time the focus will be on making an attractive pocket book consisting of a single large sheet of folded paper enclosed between two covers. The book can either be expanded outward or kept flat. Book binding is one of the techniques used to protect Macao’s precious documentary heritage. Conservation professionals will introduce and demonstrate this technique and support participants as they make their own folded book. By the end of the three-hour session, participants will be able to take home their own pocket book … and perhaps offer it as a beautiful gift! No previous experience is required but participants must be at least ten years old. Please visit the Historical Archives of Macao (open Mon-Fri, 09:30-18.30) on Tap Seac Square to register beforehand and pay the workshop fee of MOP$20. Places are limited and will be distributed according to order of registration. For further details, please contact Ms. Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 85986537.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP680 million in December 2009, down by 25.5% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling by 60.2% to MOP200 million, but that of re-exports rising by 17.1% to MOP480 million. The value of total imports of goods registered an increase for two consecutive months, up by 10.6% year-on-year to MOP3.62 billion. A trade deficit of MOP2.94 billion was recorded for December 2009. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the value of total exports (MOP1.90 billion) went down by 39.5% over the same quarter of 2008, and the value of total imports was similar to that a year ago, at MOP10.26 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of MOP8.36 billion. Macao’s merchandise export was sluggish in 2009; total value of merchandise exports fell by 52.1% year-on-year to MOP7.67 billion, of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports plunged by 69.0% and 27.0% respectively; meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports decreased by 14.2% to MOP36.90 billion. The trade deficit widened further from MOP27.01 billion in 2008 to MOP29.23 billion in 2009; the exports/imports ratio went down by 16.4 percentage points year-on-year to 20.8%. For the whole year of 2009, analyzed by destination of exports, value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 79.6%, 60.3% and 43.2% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports decreased by 73.0% year-on-year to account for 32.2% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 24.4%. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, in 2009, the value of merchandise imports from Mainland China dropped by 31.6% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 10.1%. In terms of Broad Economic Categories, the value of imports of Raw materials & semi-manufactures, Capital goods and Fuels & lubricants fell by 38.0%, 19.9% and 17.0% respectively year-on-year, but that of imports of Consumer goods rose slightly by 0.1%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 16.7%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average daily wage of construction workers was MOP529 in the fourth quarter of 2009, up by 1.1% quarter-to-quarter. The average daily wage of skilled & semi-skilled workers (MOP566) rose by 0.7%, of which welders (MOP637), carpenters (MOP620) and structural iron erectors (MOP608) were earning higher average wages; meanwhile, the average daily wage of unskilled workers (MOP357) registered an increase of 2.0%. After discounting the effect of inflation, the wage index of construction workers for the fourth quarter of 2009 was 96.4 in real terms, down by 1.1% over the previous quarter. For the whole year of 2009, the average wage index of construction workers (97.3) declined by 2.3% year-on-year in real terms. As regards construction materials, the average price of concrete rose by 2.3% quarter-to-quarter to MOP311 per cubic metre, and that of spiral and round reinforcing steel bars increased slightly by 0.8% to MOP4,251 per tonne; however, the average price of cement registered a decrease of 1.8%, at MOP641 per tonne. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings rose by 0.7% quarter-to-quarter to 126.6; in particular, the price indices of electric wires and concrete increased by 5.9% and 2.7% respectively, while the price indices of concrete pipe piles and pipes went down by 6.7% and 1.6%. Compared with the same quarter of 2008, the price index of construction materials for residential buildings registered a decrease of 9.3%. In 2009, the average price index of construction materials for residential buildings (125.2) decreased by 15.4% year-on-year.
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The Macao Historical Archives will organize a lecture in the Cultural Affairs Bureau Auditorium (Edifício do Instituto Cultural, Tap Seac Square, Macao) at 6:30pm on Friday, 5 February 2010. Mr. Danny Chin of The Genealogical Society of Utah, will give a lecture on “Genealogy in China”. Chinese genealogies record a clan's history and lineage. Genealogical records are a unique part of Chinese cultural heritage and they are regarded as one of the three important forms of documentation of the Chinese nation. Since genealogical records document the origins and story of extensive families, they are instrumental in building up family identity and unity. These records are now an important topic for researchers. Interest in China’s genealogy is thriving, with websites, articles, books and academic seminars on the topic becoming increasingly popular. More and more Chinese people around the world are engaged in tracing their roots while family and clan activities have become more frequent and extensive in Mainland China in recent years. Danny Chin, Area Manager (Asia) of the Genealogical Society of Utah, is also a Research Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies of The University of Hong Kong, Associate Editor of Diepuxue Lunchong [Studies on Genealogy] and member the Editorial Board of Zhongguo Jiapu Zongmu [The General Catalogue of Chinese Genealogy]. The latter ten-volume work is available for consultation in the Historical Archives of Macao. The lecture will be given in Cantonese with Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. Entrance is free. For further details, please contact Ms. Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 85986537.
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The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) has been participating in regional cooperation with other countries or places for the purpose of sharing resources. Among the cooperation projects with the aeronautical authorities of mainland China and Hong Kong was the Cooperation Arrangement of Mutual Acceptance of Approval of Aircraft Maintenance Organizations (AMO) signed in 2002. The three parties have then worked in close cooperation. On 28 and 29 January, the three parties held the yearly Joint Maintenance Management (JMM) Steering Committee Meeting and discussed two focused issues on the mutual acceptance of aircraft maintenance training organizations and aircraft maintenance licensing. The Steering Committee Meeting was held in AACM’s office. The three aeronautical authorities reviewed the progress of the AMO cooperation project as well as exchanged information on the difficulties encountered in practice and discussed the policy for amending the Joint Maintenance Procedures in order to carry out the relative work more effectively. In addition, the three aeronautical authorities have started the planning for the mutual acceptance of approval of aircraft maintenance training organizations between mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao since 2008. A series of discussions have been held to compare the regulations between the three places; Visits to the aeronautical authorities to observe their oversight work as well as to the maintenance training organizations to check their operations have also been conducted between the three parties to each other. The three parties have now finished the drafting of the cooperation arrangement, which is expected to be signed in 2010. The three parties also held preliminary discussions on the mutual acceptance of aircraft maintenance licensing. On this issue, the standards and the procedures for license category, examination syllabus, question bank and so on must be harmonized between mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao before conditions for mutual acceptance can be fulfilled. But given the fact that there is a discrepancy between the practice of aircraft maintenance licensing in the three places, the aeronautical authorities will therefore need a longer time for studies. On the basis of the present mutual acceptance cooperation, the three aeronautical authorities agree to aim for harmonized airworthiness standards and procedures between the three places to be the direction for future cooperation. The objectives of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao in having mutual acceptance cooperation were to reduce the economic burden resulting from the duplication of inspections and testing on the industry and to enhance cooperation and increased efficiency in matters relating to civil aviation safety. The three parties established JMM following the signing of the mutual acceptance cooperation arrangement in 2002 with members from the airworthiness disciplines from the three places. The JMM meets every year to discuss the progress review of the cooperation projects in place as well as any other new projects. The JMM Steering Committee Meeting is chaired by the three aeronautical authorities in turn. AACM has been the chairman since 2006. The meeting in these two days saw the handover of chairmanship for 2010 to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). In addition to holding the JMM Steering Committee Meeting in the week, AACM conducted a pre-audit in preparation for Macao’s participation in the Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP) which will take place this year. Following the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme which is conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to its 190 member States which Macao participated in 2009, the USAP is another big audit programme that Macao is committed to. With the coordination between CAAC and ICAO, Macao will take part in the USAP in June. A working group has been set up by AACM which has already initiated all sorts of preparation. To evaluate the preparedness of the present state, AACM invited the Programme Coordinator of the ICAO Technical Cooperation Group, Mr. Graham A Lockwood to visit Macao from 27 to 29 January for conducting a pre-audit to the Macao aviation security systems to look for possible findings. On the three-day pre-audit, Mr. Graham A Lockwood followed the USAP documentation to review the Macao Civil Aviation Security Programme, the Security Training Programme, the Quality Control and Facilitation Programme, as well as the security crisis management arrangement. In addition, Mr. Lockwood reviewed the Macau International Airport Security Programme and visited the airport to check the passenger, baggage and cargo screening and access control procedures. Mr. Lockwood has already presented the pre-audit findings to AACM. AACM will analyse those findings and adopt appropriate measures for improvement, ensuring that the security systems further comply with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices by the time the audit will take place.
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The “Macau Incentive Product Assessment Forum”, which was organised by the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) from 25th – 28th January, concluded successfully in Macau yesterday. The Forum invited 18 leading industry experts flying in from Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and the United States, who are CEOs and Senior Management of leading incentive houses, Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and event companies that operate in Asia, to participate in a series of incentive designed programs and presentations. The Forum is one of many projects being undertaken by the MBTC to help develop Macau’s MICE product offering. The objective of the “Macau Incentive Product Assessment Forum” is to obtain an assessment of Macau’s incentive product from the leading industry experts to help facilitate future product development. The program consisted of three components providing participants with a first hand experience of Macau’s key incentive venues, products and services as well as the opportunity to brief the local industry on specific market needs and requirements. Participants were also asked to provide their assessment and views on how Macau could develop its incentive product further. Around 90 companies of the MBTC’s Industry Partners Program attended the presentation and panel discussion on the third day (27th January) of the Forum program. Ms. Isabel Augusto, Head of Business Tourism of MGTO, in her opening remarks said that, “Macau is a relatively new player in the MICE market. We have built some of the world’s finest hotels, resorts and infrastructure and we also must provide the best in service, standards and product delivery. We greatly value your ideas, expertise and experience to help us achieve this.” “The purpose of this Forum is to help Macau evaluate and develop its incentive product so that you and your clients may confidentially choose Macau as incentive destination. It will also provide a range of opportunities for our overseas guests and the Macau MICE industry to interact and learn from each other so that there is a mutual understanding of needs and expectations.” The Forum was fruitful, especially for the presentation and panel discussion sessions, in which the overseas participants and local industry partners had a great time in exchanging their views on Macau’s incentive products and future developments. Although most of the speakers pointed out that Macau still had room for improvement in terms of accessibility, flexibility and new product development, they unanimously admitted that Macau is pursuing in the right direction and will be a keen competitor in Asia as an ideal MICE destination.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the total number of licensed vehicles reached 189,350 at the end of 2009, a year-on-year increase of 4%, of which 54% (102,566) were motorcycles and 39% (73,215) were light private cars. New registration of vehicles decreased by 21% year-on-year to 15,815 in 2009, with motorcycles and light private cars accounting for 66% and 28% respectively. For the whole year of 2009, the total number of traffic accidents dropped by 1% over 2008 to 12,643 cases, resulting in 4,685 victims and 14 of them were killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China decreased by 7% year-on-year to 3,508,159 vehicle trips in 2009, with vehicle traffic through the Border Gate (81% of the total) registered a 7% drop. Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport fell by 19% year-on-year to 37,177 in 2009. The major routes were Taiwan, China; Mainland China; Thailand; and Malaysia, accounting for 39%, 24%, 10% and 9% of the total commercial flights. Helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong dropped by 9% year-on-year to 15,905 whereas those between Macao and Mainland China increased by 15% to 3,382. Passenger transport by sea between Macao and Hong Kong rose by 30% year-on-year to 109,797 ferry trips and that between Macao and Mainland China totalled 21,798 trips, up by 4% compared with 2008. For the whole year of 2009, seaborne container throughput totalled 88,548 TEU or 64,195 containers handled, down by 30% and 29% respectively over 2008. Gross weight of seaborne containerized cargo fell by 45% to 180,413 tonnes, with 12,051 tonnes of transshipment goods. Gross weight of containerized cargo by land dropped notably by 50% to 51,694 tonnes, including 13,080 tonnes of transit goods. Outward air cargo fell by 31% year-on-year to 28,729 tonnes in 2009. The main destination was Taiwan, China that accounted for 73% of the total. Concurrently, inward air cargo decreased by 21% to 13,257 tonnes, with those from Taiwan, China taking a predominant share of 85%. In addition, transit air cargo tumbled by 75% year-on-year to 10,478 tonnes. At the end of 2009, the number of mobile telephone users rose by 11% from a year earlier to 1,037,380 whereas fixed-line telephone users decreased by 3% to 171,360. As regards internet services, number of subscribers reached 143,353 and the cumulative duration of usage totalled 340 million hours for the whole year of 2009, up by 12% and 35% respectively.
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Starting from 1 February 2010, the processing time after completion of registration for using Hong Kong e-Channel at the self-service kiosk is reduced from five working days to three working days. In other words, residents can use the e-Channel to enter and exit Hong Kong on the third working day from the next day after successful registration. Besides the ground floor of China Plaza, departure halls of Macao Ferry Terminal and Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal, the self-services kiosks are installed at the Macao SAR Government Service Center and have been in service since 13 January 2010.
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“Tak Seng On”, Macau’s Urban Best Practices Area case in the Shanghai World Expo, will be the first pavilion to complete all exterior construction works in the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA). Tak Seng On is a permanent building built in the UBPA at the Puxi Section of the 2010 World Expo. While other pavilions in that section are still undergoing interior and exterior construction works, Tak Seng On is poised to complete construction on schedule and become the first ever self-built pavilion within the section to complete all constructions, including interior fittings. The final completion date is targeted in March 2010. 2010 Shanghai World Expo’s TSO will retain the original design and consist of three buildings. Being larger in size and sporting a fresher image, it highlights Macau’s efforts in preserving and reusing historical buildings. The ground floor of the pavilion features an exhibition on pawnshop operations. There will also be an exhibition on Jin Yong on the first floor, which runs mainly on the theme of “In Search Jin Yong’s Inkprints”. Jin Yong’s novels and manuscripts will be among the exhibits, while his much loved characters will be also brought to life, with an injection of spirit of Macau’s martial arts, through multimedia technology. Finally, the second floor introduces visitors to Macau’s current cultural and creative industries.
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