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The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, said today that the Ministerial Roundtable on Asia-Pacific Tourism Policies, being held in Macao, would provide a timely opportunity for participants to exchanges ideas. Mr Chui said at the opening of the session that the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) had worked constantly as a global forum for tourism policy issues, and provides a practical source of tourism know-how to its members worldwide. “Being an Associate Member of UNWTO, Macao has received valuable assistance and guidance in our tourism development, through projects that covered tourism marketing, tourism product development, tourism education and other aspects,” said Mr Chui. He said the ministerial roundtable provided a timely opportunity for tourism policy-makers from the Asia-Pacific regions to exchange ideas on tourism policies when challenges and uncertainties disturbing the balance of the tourism industry remain. “Over the past few years, the evolution of this industry has resulted in dynamic economic growth in related sectors. This rapid and positive development is also due in a great part to the support of the Central Government. We are proud that ‘The Historic Centre of Macao’ has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List last July.” He said that on the other hand, he was also fully aware that opportunities come with challenges. “The growth in visitor numbers and the sophistication of modern travellers are placing new demands on service quality. At the same time, we are not immune to external impacts, positive and negative alike.” He said Macao would play its part in the cooperative efforts to realise the objectives of the meeting.”
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 273,002 in April 2006, up 20.2% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (227,258) and Hong Kong (10,916) grew 27.7% and 71.2% respectively; however, those from Taiwan, China decreased 45.7% to 15,595 over April 2005. In the first four months of 2006, visitor arrivals in package tours surged 24.3% over the same period of 2005 to 1,007,824. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours was 27,087 in April 2006, surged 39.8%. Mainland China; Taiwan, China; and Thailand were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 85.3%, 3.9% and 3.7% of the total respectively. In the first four months of 2006, Macao residents (89,007) travelling in package tours went up 20.8% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 31,179 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by the travel agencies, an increase of 32.4% over April 2005; Mainland China (33.4%), Hong Kong (22.8%) and Taiwan, China (21.1%) were the major destinations. In the first four months of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements surged 35.2% to 117,007 compared with the same period of 2005. At the end of April 2006, there were 11,323 guest rooms available in hotels and similar establishments, an increase of 687 rooms (+6.5%) over April 2005. In addition, a total of 402,224 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, a growth of 21.6% compared with April 2005. The average hotel occupancy rate reached 77.8%, showing a notable year-on-year increase of 10.7 percentage points and the highest average was in the 3-star hotels, at 86.7%. The average length of stay of hotel guest remained the same as April 2005, at 1.16 nights. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (58.0%), Hong Kong (26.4%) and Taiwan, China (2.8%). In the first four months of 2006, number of hotel guests increased 18.4% over 2005 to 1,469,082. In the first four months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 40.9% of the total number of tourists, which was slightly lower than the 41.2% recorded in the same period of 2005.
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Included in the Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao and starting tomorrow, June 12, at 6:30 pm, at the Legal and Judicial Training Centre (Luso-International Bank Building, 18th floor), is the Seminar on “Human Rights and International Law: Some Global Challenges”. This training activity will take place daily, between 6.30 and 8.30 pm, until June 16, having as speakers Marco Ventura, Professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Siena, Italy, and Jónatas Eduardo Mendes Machado, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. During the five days of the seminar, will be discussed the following topics: “Human rights in the global market, economics and International Law”, “International Protection of Human rights, Human Rights between global a local understanding”, “International Human Rights Courts and alternative dispute resolution”, “Freedom of Expression and Media Responsibility” and “Human Rights and new frontiers of life: bioethics and biotechnologies”. This seminar is organised by the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, will be conducted in English and targets Law degree holders. The Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field between the European Union and Macao, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the “Consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and is already in its fifth year, taking place until February 2007. The total budget for the programme is of 1.980.000 euros, shared in equal parts by the European Union and Macao. The co-ordination of the Co-operation Programme is at the responsibility of the International Law Office, being the organisation of the pertaining activities ensured by several other entities of the MSAR’s Government, namely the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services and the Institute of European Studies, other than the International Law Office itself.
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The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen said this evening that the outlook for Macao’s tourism service-oriented economy seems brighter, with regional tourism co-operation being one of the focuses of this year’s pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Co-operation and Development Forum. Returning from Yunnan, Mr Tam said that tourism co-operation between members of the PPRD region had been progressing at a favourable pace. He said he was delighted to see that a new guideline was agreed in this year’s forum and Macao would participate actively. Mr Tam said accessible tourism was a long-term goal for all the members of the PPRD region. He said the Macao delegation took the opportunity of the PPRD Forum to promote the intermediating role of Macao and results were satisfying. At the same time, talks with top trade officials of ASEAN countries had opened new doors for Macao-ASEAN co-operation and the SAR Government was keen to capitalise on these new links to promote further developments of Macao. Mr Tam was a key member of the Macao SAR Government delegation lead by the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, to attend the PPRD Forum held in Yunnan from earlier this week. The delegation returned to Macao this evening.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and his delegation left Kunming for Lijiang today. Mr Ho was in Yunnan Province to attend the Third Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Co-operation Fair. In the afternoon they visited the Old Town of Lijiang, an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. They are scheduled to visit the Mountain of Jade Dragon and Shuhe Old Town tomorrow and return to Macao in the evening.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said this evening that Macao was in favour of accessible tourism, but it should be approached practically as all destinations have its own limits besides being complementary to one another. During a joint press conference held by the heads of governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta in Kunming, Mr Ho said Macao anticipated the realisation of accessible tourism, which was also a common goal of all the PPRD members. He said Macao, as a city where tourism was the main industry, had gained much from PPRD regional co-operation, and the approval of the “PPRD Regional Tourism Cooperation Guideline” in the PPRD heads of governments joint meeting today had further strengthened cooperation in the industry in the sense of capitalising on the complementary resources in the region and in widening the market. “But this inevitably has to run its course, as every destination have different resources which can complement one other, but at the same time, have limits of its own,” said Mr Ho. Taking Macao as an example, he said it was unrealistic to expect unlimited growth in tourist arrivals as it would not only hinder the enhancement of tourism resources, but could also bring negative impact. He said accessible tourism could only be approached in a practical way and with a perspective of generality, and all governments should keep an open mind when looking at the flow of consumer spending power. He said traffic and accommodation capacity were the first two issues they had to deal with.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today Macao should further promote co-operation in tourism with its partners in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region in an attempt to craft the Special Administrative Region (SAR) into a unique regional tourist destination. Mr Ho was delivering a speech at a forum attended by the governors of the nine provinces in the PPRD region, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, and high-ranking officials in the region. He said despite successive increase in tourist arrivals in recent years, the lack of natural tourist attractions had restrained the development of Macao's mainstay industry. Developing regional tourism with the PPRD region, whose members possessed enormous natural tourism resources, would complement Macao, he said. Mr Ho said shared information and joint marketing would boost the competitiveness of the whole region's tourism industry. Macao should strengthen its uniqueness in order to integrate into the region, he said According to the 11th Five-Year Plan, the Central Government endorsed Macao's plans to develop its tourism and services industry in a bid to attain a moderately diversified economy. Mr Ho said Macao would be committed to the vertical diversification of its tourism industry, which included the integration of culture, leisure, business, retailing, sports, convention and meeting, fine food, gaming and entertainment. Moreover, Macao would spare no efforts to enhance its business environment, credibility and quality of its services. Speaking on the role of the MSAR in regional tourism co-operation, Mr Ho said Macao would welcome members of the PPRD to harness its status as a platform in tourism promotion, especially during major international events in Macao, such as the 44th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific, the 48th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for South Asia, the 2006 World Heritage Year, the 1st Lusofonia Games and the 2nd Asian Indoor Games. In addition, Mr Ho said Macao had plans to step up its promotion in various overseas markets and would welcome members of the PPRD to join in these campaigns.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region could participate more actively in the facilitation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. Mr Ho was delivering a speech during a session between the members of the PPRD region and some commerce officials from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Mr Ho said due to the proximity to the ASEAN, the PPRD region could act as an intermediate for these countries. In addition, he said, Macao would like to co-operate with the members of ASEAN to develop the markets of the Portuguese-speaking countries. He said that Macao had become a platform between the Mainland and the Portuguese-speaking countries since the launch of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) in 2003, and the setting up of the supporting office to its Secretariat. To bolster its intermediary role, Macao would organise the second forum this year, and would co-operate with the members of the PPRD region to strengthen the trading and business links with the Portuguese-speaking countries. Before attending this session, Mr Ho officiated the opening ceremony of the third PPRD Economic and Trade Co-operation Fair and toured the exhibition area set up by the MSAR and Macao's businesspeople.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, and the other heads of governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) region, this afternoon officiated the opening ceremony of the third PPRD Regional Co-operation and Development Forum in Qujing. In a welcoming speech, the Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial Committee, Mr Bai Enpei, said strengthening co-ordination in the region would promote co-operation between the Mainland and the two Special Administrative Regions -- Macao and Hong Kong. He said it would enhance the links between the Mainland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). After the ceremony, Mr Ho and the other heads of governments in the PPRD region unveiled a stone pillar carved with important events and dates of their co-operation. Afterwards, Mr Ho touched the water at the source of the Pearl River, to indicate its importance. In the evening, Mr Ho and his delegation attended a banquet hosted by the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and the Yunnan Provincial Government. Tomorrow, Mr Ho is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the third PPRD Economic and Trade Co-operation Fair and a session with some commerce officials from member of ASEAN. In the afternoon, he is scheduled to deliver a speech in a forum participated by the high-ranking officials in the region, and attend a meeting with other heads of governments in the PPRD region. They are scheduled to hold a press conference in the same evening.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Huang Huahua today agreed on strengthening Guangdong-Macao co-operation. At a working meeting held in Kunming, Mr Ho and Mr Huang, accompanied by their government delegations, updated each other on the latest economic and social developments in the two places and reaffirmed the significant results of Guangdong-Macao co-operation in recent years. Both leaders agreed on joining forces in promoting Pan-Pearl River Delta regional co-operation and strengthening trade and economy ties. They also agreed that Guangdong and Macao would work more closely together to promote co-operation among Pan-Pearl River Delta members in infrastructure projects, support the moderate diversification of Macao’s economy, hasten the construction of Zhuhai-Macao Cross Bounday Industrial Park, secure the steady supply of fresh water to Macao, and to prepare for the Guangdong-Macao Co-operation Joint Meeting 2006. The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen and standing Committee Member of CPC Guangdong Committee and Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong, Mr Zhong Yangsheng, were also at the meeting. Later in the afternoon, Mr Ho paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Yunnan, Mr Xu Rongkai, before attending a photo exhibition on Macao, and the opening ceremony of a hotel owned by Macao businesspeople. Afterwards, he joined the Secretary of CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, Mr Bai Enpei, in attending a signing ceremony of contracts of joint ventures between Macao and Yunnan enterprises. Mr Ho will attend the opening ceremony of the third Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) Regional Co-operation and Development Forum in Qujing tomorrow.
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