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Macao is at the crossroads with its image positioning and marketing in tourism. It is undeniable that gaming has become a leading economic pillar of Macao which is confirmed by current statistics, Macao people would still like the world to appreciate other aspects as a unique tourism destination, from Macao’s UNESCO World Heritage, international events, local cultural festivals, leisure and entertainment treats, to the culinary delights. Strategies in enhancing the image of Macao from a gaming destination to a multidimensional leisure and entertainment hub are desired. With this reason, having successfully organised various seminars and conferences jointly with Purdue University, USA, in the past few years, IFT continues to organise, with new co-organisers University of South Carolina, USA, and Sun Yat-sen University, PRC, the 3rd International Conference on “Destination Branding and Marketing”, 2-4 December, at the IFT. This conference is an outcome of a long-standing partnership among the four organisers, and is expected to touch on some imminent issues that Macao is facing, and generate useful ideas that can be further explored, and applied in other destinations undergoing or wishing to undergo transformation. The opening ceremony of the conference was hosted by Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT, Dr. Liping Cai, Associate Dean of School of Consumer and Family Science of Purdue University, USA, Dr. Brian Mihalik, Dean of College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management of University of South Carolina, USA and Professor Bao Jigang, Dean of School of Tourism Management and School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, PRC. Delegates from Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Mainland China, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese Taiwan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR; Participants from tourism and hospitality professionals, destination marketing practitioners, executives, researchers, academics, graduate students, convention and visitor's bureau executives, event planners and organisers, travel industry members, operators, and travel-related business owners and investors were invited to attend this conference. Aiming to create a forum and opportunity for the latest developments, trends, and research emerging in the area of destination branding and marketing, ideas are shared, discussed, and debated in the conference. Papers of both applied and conceptual orientation are presented on the following topics, along with other relevant concerns: - Strategic issues in destination branding and marketing development
- Measuring destination branding and marketing effectiveness
- Destination product innovation
- Cooperation, collaboration and competition in destination branding and marketing
- Success or failure stories, best practices and case studies in destination branding and marketing
- Consumer travel behavior, visitor segmentation and psychology in destination branding and marketing
- Branding for special interest tourism (nature, heritage and culture, events, conventions and gaming)
- The economics of destination branding and marketing
- Joint or regional destination branding, promotion and marketing
- Tourism distribution and online branding and marketing
- Hospitality and hotel management in a destination branding context Speakers include: - Prof. Bao Jigang
Dean, School of Tourism Management and School of Geography and Planning of Sun Yat-sen University, PRC - Dr. Liping A. Cai
Associate Dean, School of consumer and Family Science of Purdue University, USA - Dr. Jonathon Day
Department of Hospitality and Tourism of Purdue University, USA
Founder and President at Placemark Solutions, Inc - Jim Epperson
President/CEO, First Capitol Tourism Development Corporation
Executive Director, Harrison County Convention & Visitor Bureau - Prof. William C. Gartner
Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, USA - Dr. Rich Harrill
Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Travel & Tourism Industry Center and International Tourism Research Institute of University of South Carolina, USA - Dr. Nigel Morgan
The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research - Roger Pride
Director of Marketing, Welsh Assembly Government, UK - Dr. Annette Pritchard
Director, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff School of Management, UWIC, UK - Prof. Haiyan Song
Associate Director, School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) amounted to MOP 23.93 billion in 2008, up by 5.41 billion over 2007, with the investment in the Gaming Sector accounting for 69.1% of the total, at MOP 16.54 billion. Analyzed by investors’ place of usual residence, investment came mainly from Hong Kong (MOP 6.47 billion), the United States (MOP 5.96 billion) and Mainland China (MOP 5.62 billion). In addition to a disinvestment of MOP 744 million of outward FDI of local enterprises, Macao registered a net FDI inflow of MOP 24.67 billion in 2008. In 2008, income earned by investors from inward FDI totalled MOP 21.97 billion, a significant increase of MOP 10.80 billion year-on-year. On the other hand, Macao enterprises recorded a loss of MOP 245 million from outward FDI. At the end of 2008, stock of inward FDI to Macao reached MOP 88.43 billion, an increase of 15.69 billion from 2007. Analyzed by industry, the Gaming Sector took a dominant share of MOP 60.43 billion, up by MOP 11.92 billion year-on-year; meanwhile, stock of FDI of the Financial Sector (MOP 17.56 billion) and the Construction Sector (MOP 3.59 billion) rose by MOP 4.46 billion and MOP 141 million respectively. Stock of FDI from Hong Kong amounted to MOP 32.30 billion in 2008, down by MOP 1.50 billion year-on-year; however, stock of FDI from the United States (MOP 17.67 billion) and Mainland China (MOP 9.91 billion) increased by MOP4.30 billion and MOP3.24 billion respectively. Furthermore, stock of outward FDI made by Macao enterprises amounted to MOP 8.10 billion at the end of 2008, down by MOP 792 million from 2007. Outward FDI was mainly invested in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Direct Investment Statistics facilitate analysis of FDI profile between Macao and other economies. For statistical purposes, Macao and Mainland China are considered as two separate economies. Coverage of the Direct Investment Statistics included the major industries of Macao, namely Industrial Production; Construction; Wholesale & Retail; Hotels; Restaurants; Transport, Storage & Communications; Real Estate Agencies; Financial Services; Gaming; and Cultural, Recreational & Other Services. In 2008, Macao had 2,020 FDI enterprises, with 1,970 engaging in the Non-Financial Sector and 50 in the Financial Sector.
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The Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) is pleased to present the call for tenders for the supply of Rolling Stock & Systems for the Phase 1 Macau LRT Project. Interested parties shall submit their tenders to GIT Headquarter by 5pm on 12 March 2010. The purpose of this Call for Tender is to seek the best offer from eligible Tenderers worldwide to supply Rolling Stock and Systems for the Phase 1 Macau LRT, and the Design and Build Turnkey solution for implementation of LRT in Sai Van Bridge (Basic Proposal). The Rolling Stock in the Basic Proposal shall suffice the initial operational capacity as defined in the Tender Document, with options at the discretion of the Awarding Entity for the supply of additional trains to increase the designated capacities. The design of systems and facilities shall be done in accordance with the ultimate system capacity, so that increase in operational capacity shall not bring any disruption to the services. In order to ensure the safety, reliability and integrity of the Macau LRT System, special attention will be given to the experience and record of the Supplier and the proposed Rolling Stock. Tenderers have to fulfill the eligibility requirement and entry requirement stipulated in the Tender Documents. They shall submit as part of the tender at least one similar project in Rolling Stock and one similar project in ATC with complete and successful implementation in the last 15 years. The similar project shall be an Unattended Train Operation (UTO) line with a minimum length of 5 km. It shall have been in revenue service for at least the last 18 months prior to the date of the Official Public Announcement, with availability of 98% in the last month of that period. The proposed Rolling Stock shall be in rubber-tyre wheels and has been fully proven in previous projects, with a minimum of 18 months of revenue service prior to Official Public Announcement. Interested parties can access and purchase the Tender Documents during office hours in GIT Headquarter located at Rua do Dr. Pedro José Lobo, Edifício Banco Luso Internacional, n.º 1-3, 26º andar, Macau. Tender shall be submitted by 5pm on 12 March 2010. Please feel free to refer to the Government of Macau Special Administrative Region Gazette (Boletim Oficial da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau) dated 2 December 2009, No. 48 Series II and our website: www.git.gov.mo for details.
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The gardens in Suzhou, the temples of Kyoto, the mystical streets of Varanasi or the Cobbled walkways of Macao are examples of historic urban areas that have long captivated and charmed travelers. Although the benefits, impacts, implications and consequences of tourism on cultural heritage have been much discussed, there are both persistent and emerging gaps in our knowledge of particular issues involved in achieving meaningful and sustainable approaches to heritage tourism in historic urban areas. To further probe into these issues, the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) and the Asian Academy for Heritage Management (AAHM) jointly organised the “2nd Asian Academy for Heritage Management Conference”, themed “Urban Heritage and Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities”. The conference will also examine the relationship between the conservation and management of urban heritage and the development of cultural tourism. This conference is an outcome of a long-standing partnership between IFT and AAHM. The Asian Academy for Heritage Management was established for the purpose improving professional training and enhancing management capacity in fields related to culture heritage by UNESCO and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). IFT was invited to be one of the founding members in 2003. The 1st Asian Academy for Heritage Management Conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006 with the theme “Asian Approaches to Conservation”. It is the Institute’s honour to have this opportunity to co-host the conference with AAHM, which has not only provided a platform for scholars from around the world to share their findings and encourage academic exchange. With the various case studies done on Macao cultural tourism, valuable suggestions have been presented for the sustainable development of Macao urban heritage conservation and tourism. The opening ceremony was hosted by Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT, Dr. Timothy Curtis, Head of Culture Unit of UNESCO Bangkok and Dr. Gamini Wijesuriya, Project Manager (Sites Unit) of the ICCROM. Over 90 delegates from Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Mainland China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR; Participants comes from different background including cultural unit executives, tourism and hospitality professionals, architects and urban planners, executives, researchers, academics and graduate students were invited to attend this conference. As a platform of discussion about urban heritage and tourism, ideas are shared, discussed, and debated in the conference. Papers of both applied and conceptual orientation are presented on the following four sub-themes within the contexts of historic urban areas: - Managing change in historic urban areas in the face of tourism development
- Adaptive re-use of urban heritage resources as hospitality venues
- Heritage interpretation: By whom? For whom?
- Heritage tourism’s contributions to host communities Specialist speakers include︰ - Dr. Richard A. Engelhardt
UNESCO Charge de Mission and Senior Advisor to the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture - Prof. Mike Robinson
Chair of Tourism and Culture of Leeds Metropolitan University, UK - Prof. Christopher Ryan
Professor of University of Waikato, New Zealand
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Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) has the honour in inviting Executive Chef Marc Bonard, of the LE CORDON BLEU Japan Culinary Arts Schools to feature the “LE CORDON BLEU Master Chef Week at IFT”. LE CORDON BLEU, one of the leading school for teaching classical French cuisine, patisserie and boulangerie was established in Paris, France in 1895. Over the last century, LE CORDON BLEU has developed a reputation for maintain the highest standards of culinary excellence. Executive Chef Marc Bonard, originally from the town of Quillan in the Languedoc region of France, received B.E.P. in Cuisine from the Lycee Hotelier in Tain L’Hermitage. He was appointed as Chef de Cuisine of Le Cordon Bleu Brasserie in 2001 and joined LE CORDON BLEU TOKYO in 2007, expertise in teaching French culinary technique with Japanese ingredients. Executive Chef Marc Bonard will demonstrate the finest in classic French cuisine reinterpreted in a modern and innovative context, including a number of plate decoration arts. Chef Bonard aims to offer participants an exclusive gastronomic programme and to allow them to experience superb dishes tantalising their senses throughout this one week French Master Chef Programme. The International Culinary Academy @ IFT endeavours to bring in new culinary elements and exchange opportunities with international prestigious institutions to Macao. It is believed the local arts in culinary can be brought to a new horizon. The “LE CORDON BLEU Master Chef Week at IFT” will take place from 01 to 05 December with different topics on each day, including plate decoration art concept and execution, French and fusion cuisine demonstration.
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The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, congratulated the members of the next Executive Council, whose names were announced today by the Third-term Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On. In a statement released by the Chief Executive, Mr Ho said he believed members of the incoming Council would contribute to the policies of Mr Chui’s administration and to the sustainable development of Macao. Mr Ho also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the members of the current Executive Council, the statement said. The composition of the new Executive Council was announced today in a statement released by Mr Chui’s office.
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In accordance with the Basic Law, the Third-term Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, has completed the formation of the Executive Council of the Third-term MSAR Government. A press statement released by Mr Chui’s office today listed the members as follows: Ms Florinda Chan;
Mr Leong Heng Teng;
Mr Liu Chak Wan;
Mr Ma Iao Lai;
Mr Leonal Alberto Alves;
Mr Cheang Chi Keong;
Mr Leong Vai Tac;
Mr Chan Meng Kam;
Ms Ho Sut Heng, and
Mr Wong Yue Kai. The first seven are incumbent members of the current Executive Council. They will take the oath of office on 20 December, when an executive order confirming the appointment will be gazetted. The function of the Exeuctive Council is to assist the Chief Executive in policymaking. Mr Chui said he believed that they would serve Macao and fulfil their duties with integrity, according to the statement.
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Starting from October 2009, the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the new series of Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebased to April 2008 – March 2009. The 2008/2009 based Composite CPI (101.15) for October 2009 decreased by 1.10% year-on-year, of which the price index of Education fell substantially by 18.95%; besides, falling prices of LPG, lower rentals for housing and reduced charges for mobile phone services drove the price indices of Housing & Fuels; and Communication down by 3.53% and 2.01% respectively. On the contrary, price indices of Clothing & Footwear; Miscellaneous Goods & Services; and Health increased by 5.49%, 3.35% and 2.92% respectively, attributable to higher charges for medical consultation, dearer prices of women’s clothing and gold jewellery. The CPI-A (101.00) and CPI-B (101.12) for October 2009 decreased by 2.13% and 0.92% year-on-year. The Composite CPI for October 2009 increased by 0.28% month-to-month, of which the price indices of Clothing & Footwear; Transport; and Miscellaneous Goods & Services rose by 2.26%, 0.75% and 0.54% respectively on account of dearer prices of new Autumn and Winter clothing, rising prices of private cars and gasoline, as well as higher gold prices. However, price index of Recreation & Culture decreased by 0.32% due to lower charges for outbound package tours. Meanwhile, the CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.19% and 0.29% month-to-month. The average Composite CPI for the first ten months of 2009 went up by 1.35% year-on-year. For the 12 months ended October 2009, the average Composite CPI rose by 2.22% over the preceding period. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The new rebased 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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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the value of total exports of goods amounted to MOP583 million in October 2009, down by 49.8% year-on-year, with the value of domestic exports falling by 71.8% to MOP181 million and that of re-exports dropping by 22.6% to MOP402 million. The value of total imports of goods amounted to MOP3.17 billion, down by 11.6% year-on-year. A trade deficit of MOP2.59 billion was recorded for October 2009. From January to October 2009, total value of merchandise exports fell by 54.7% year-on-year to MOP6.36 billion, of which the value of domestic exports and re-exports declined by 69.7% and 31.7% respectively; meanwhile, total value of merchandise imports slid by 18.5% to MOP29.62 billion. The trade deficit for the first ten months of 2009 widened by 4.2% year-on-year to MOP23.26 billion; the exports/imports ratio went down by 17.1 percentage points to 21.5%. Analyzed by destination of Macao’s exports, in the first ten months of 2009, the value of merchandise exports to the USA, the EU and Mainland China decreased by 79.6%, 59.5% and 45.4% respectively year-on-year. The value of Textile & garment exports declined by 73.1% year-on-year to account for 34.6% of the total exports of goods; meanwhile, the value of Non-textile exports dropped by 29.1%. Regarding the country of origin of imported goods, the value of merchandise imports from Mainland China dropped by 37.1% year-on-year, but that from the EU rose by 5.1%. The value of imports by Broad Economic Category registered year-on-year decrease, of which Raw materials & semi-manufactures and Fuels & lubricants fell by 40.4% and 25.3% respectively; meanwhile, the value of imports of Consumer goods recorded a mild decrease of 5.2%, with that of Food & beverages rising by 17.4%.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the summary of the GDP for the third quarter of 2009. The rates of change refer to the year-on-year change in real terms, unless otherwise specified. Performance of the gaming and tourism sector showed improvement in the third quarter of 2009, with gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) surging by 22.3% year-on-year in nominal terms; decline of total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) tapered significantly from 20.6% in the second quarter to 10.2%; gross fixed capital formation and merchandise exports saw protracted decrease, down substantially by 41.3% and 54.4% respectively. Integrating the respective information, GDP for the third quarter of 2009 expanded by 8.2% in real terms, ending the economic downturn in the previous three quarters. Moreover, GDP for the first quarter, second quarter and first half of the year was revised downward to -12.0%, -15.3% and -13.6% in real terms respectively and GDP growth for 2008 also revised downward to 12.9% in real terms. As regards major GDP components, private consumption expenditure dropped by 1.2% in the third quarter, moderating from the 2.1% decrease in the previous quarter. On account of the shrinking population, household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market fell marginally by 0.1% and that abroad also declined by 0.9%, with the expenditure in Mainland China amounting to MOP 745 million. Government final consumption expenditure increased notably by 17.4%, higher than the 2.1% growth in the second quarter, with compensation of employees, and net purchases of goods and services rising by 6.3% and 55.4% respectively. As a gauge of investment, gross fixed capital formation contracted by 41.3%, slackening further from the 30.3% decrease in the second quarter. Total private investment shrank by 46.1%, with construction and equipment investment decreasing by 54.2% and 14.4% respectively. Total government investment expanded by 89.3%, in which construction investment surged by 145.5%, while that of equipment went down by 5.6%. Integrating data of both sectors, decline of the overall construction investment widened further from 32.4% in the second quarter to 48.5%; however, decrease of equipment investment narrowed from 22.7% in the previous quarter to 13.9%. In terms of visible trade, decline of the total value of merchandise exports tapered off from the second quarter to register decrease of 56.9% in nominal terms or 54.4% in real terms. Analyzed by destination, merchandise exports to the United States, the European Union, Mainland China and Hong Kong decreased by 82.7%, 60.8%, 48.5% and 11.1% respectively in nominal terms. Total merchandise imports also saw smaller decline from the previous quarter to drop by 20.2% in nominal terms or 18.5% in real terms. As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services increased by 22.6%, with decrease of total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) slowing to 10.2% upon the 2.1% fall in visitor arrivals and the 8.6% decrease of their per-capita spending. Integrating the principal data on exports of services, overall exports of services grew by 15.8%, putting an end to the deceleration for three consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2008; meanwhile, decline of imports of services also narrowed noticeably from 22.4% in the second quarter to 7.2%.
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