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A delegation from the Office for Development of the Energy Sector visited Guangxi on 16-17 May to study means to strengthen co-operation on energy resources within the Pan Pearl River Delta. During the meeting, the Director of the Sector, Mr Arnaldo Ernesto dos Santos, briefed participants on the structure of energy resources in Macao, the consumption of energy, and the greater demand of energy due to economic development in recent years. Mr Santos said the Macao Government would promote diversification of the enengry structure, modernisation of facilities as well as measures to save energy. The Government had plans to introduce natural gas in 2007, he said. The delegation also visited energy-producing infrastructures in the province.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the value of total retail sales for the first quarter of 2006 was estimated at MOP2.45 billion. Retail sales of motor vehicles; watches, clocks & jewellery; and goods in department stores accounted for 12% each of the total, which were followed by sales of goods in supermarkets (11%), adults' clothing (10%), fuels for household use (5%) and automotive fuels (5%). In this quarter, value of retail sales rose by 15% compared with the MOP2.14 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2005, with marked increases in the sales of watches, clocks & jewellery; adults' clothing; sales of goods in supermarkets; fuels for household use and automotive fuels. Compared with the MOP2.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2005, value of retail sales in this quarter increased by 5%. A comparison of the retailers’ opinions indicated that about 47% reported decrease in the sales volume in the first quarter of 2006, up by 25 percentage points over the same opinion of the previous quarter, while 53% reported that the sales volume remained stable or increased. In terms of retail prices, about 54% and 15% reported that the prices were stable and showed increase whereas 31% reported the prices decreased. Compared with the same quarter of 2005, about 70% said that the stock level was normal in the first quarter of 2006, while 15% indicated that the stock level was low. Regarding the business prospect for the second quarter of 2006, about 71% expected the sales volume to increase or remain stable, 29% expected it to decrease. Meanwhile, about 90% expected the retail prices to remain stable or increase, while 10% expected it to decrease.
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Statistics and Census Service released the results of Employment Survey for the 1st quarter of 2006. Principal indicators such as the labour force participation rate, unemployment rate and underemployment rate have been published in the brief report at the beginning of May. In the 1st quarter of 2006, total labour force was estimated at 265,800, within which 255,400 were employed and 10,400 were unemployed. Compared with the 4th quarter of 2005, the employed population and unemployed population increased 7,000 and 100 respectively. Within the employed population, 52.6% were male. § Analyzed by industry, the majority of the employed population were engaging in Recreational, cultural, gaming & other service activities (17.2%), Wholesale & retail trade (15.3%), Manufacturing (13.1%), as well as the Construction sector (11.1%). § In terms of occupation, 21.6% of the employed population were Clerks (including casino dealers, floorpersons, betting service operators, etc.), 20.2% were Service & sales workers and 17.1% were Unskilled workers. § The median actual hours worked per week was 47.3 hours; the median monthly employment earnings was MOP5,992. Within the unemployed, 92.9% were searching for a new job, while 7.1% had never worked and were searching for their first job. With regard to the educational attainment, 9.0% had lower than primary education; 26.3% had primary education; 36.7% had junior secondary education; 17.0% had senior secondary education and 11.0% had tertiary education. Within the unemployed that were searching for a new job: § Analyzed by their previous industry engaged, the majority had worked in Manufacturing (19.0%); Wholesale & retail trade (17.9%); Recreational, cultural, gaming & other service activities (15.4%); as well as Hotels, restaurants & similar activities (15.2%). § In terms of their previous occupation, 25.2% were Service & sales workers; Unskilled workers (20.5%) and Clerks (17.5%).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2006, construction of 19 buildings was started, with 1,372 units and 286,464 m² in gross floor area, up 110.4% and 2.5 times respectively over the first quarter of 2005, but down 45.8% and 51.2% respectively in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2005. A sum of 1,778 parking spaces for cars and 355 parking spaces for motorcycles were provided. In the first quarter of 2006, a total of 12 buildings were completed or extended, involving 354 units and 180,633 m² in gross floor area, up 6.2 times and 118.8% respectively over the first quarter of 2005, but down 6.1% and 14.5% respectively in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2005. A sum of 596 parking spaces for cars and 210 parking spaces for motorcycles were provided. The number of residential buildings completed and extended was 7, supplying 324 building units, up 8.8 times and down 0.9% over the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2005 respectively. The housing units were mainly T2 (197 units), 60.8% of the total, followed by T3 (114 units).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that per-capita spending of visitors for the first quarter of 2006 increased by 5% to MOP 1,562 over the same period of 2005. Per-capita spending of Mainland visitors took the lead with MOP 3,088, while that of Hong Kong visitors was MOP-922. Moreover, per-capita spending of tourists and same-day visitors were MOP 2,242 and MOP 591 respectively, up by 10% and 11% compared with the first quarter of 2005. Per-capita non-shopping spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors decreased slightly by 1% year-on-year to MOP 818, of which the expenses on Food & Beverage and Accommodation accounted for 40% and 37% of the non-shopping spending. Furthermore, per-capita shopping spending surged by 12% to MOP 744; the expenses on Food & Candy and Clothing shared 25% and 18% of the per-capita shopping spending. Per-diem spending of visitors was MOP 1,485 in the first quarter of 2006, up by 10% over the same period of 2005. Mainland visitors had the highest per-diem spending, at MOP 2,668. In this quarter, the average length of stay of visitors (1.1 days), tourists (1.6 days) and same-day visitors (0.2 day) were identical to the average of the first quarter of 2005.
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In its continuing efforts to enhance the quality of life of its residents, the Macao SAR Government will set up a Research Centre for Sustainable Development Strategies to help formulate policies and strategies for sustainable development. The Centre’s establishent is the result of an executive order by the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, published today in the Macao SAR Gazette. It will replace the Qualilty of Life Study Centre, and will advise the Government on strategies and policies to be adopted to attain sustainable development. Furthermore, it will conduct studies and researches on population, economy, urban development, education and training.
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The movie “Love in Macau”, supported of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), premiered today in Beijing before touring the country’s cinemas to show Chinese audiences Macau’s architectural beauty and its rich history. Deputy director of MGTO, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, attended the gala premiere of the movie, held at the Great Hall of the People. To her, the movie is good medium to help promote Macau on the Mainland, the biggest source of visitors for Macau. “The movie will allow more people to know Macau. Cinema is another way to display the distinct beauty of Macau that mixes Chinese and Portuguese cultures,” said MGTO deputy director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes. For Macau born director Chen Yi Feng, the movie showcases one of Macau’s more intense epochs, during the 1940 years. “I have a very strong emotional relationship with Macau, since I was born here. I hope to give something valuable to Macau with this movie and be able to show these very rich and moving times of the territory’s history”, pointed out Chen Yi Feng. During the ensuing weeks, the director and actors will promote “Love in Macau” throughout several cities on the Mainland, before opening the movie in Macau and Hong Kong, on a date still to be confirmed. Several sites of the Historic Centre of Macau, designated as World Heritage by UNESCO, serve as the scenery for the story, taking place during the II World War, when Macau became a safe haven, due to its neutrality during the conflict. The Ruins of St Paul’s, Dom Pedro V Theatre, St Joseph’s Seminary and Church as well as other historic buildings of Macau make the backdrop for the leading characters: a reporter and a direct descendent of the imperial family, that would be a princess if the Qing Dynasty had not been overthrown. Hong Kong stars Alex Fong and Stephy Tang, along with Chinese Manchu actress Aixin Jueluoqixing, interpret the main roles. Mainland China is on of MGTO’s priority markets for promotional campaigns. Since 2003, the Mainland became Macau’s number one source market, overtaking Hong Kong. Last year, among the 18 million visitors that came to Macau, ten million or 56 per cent were from the Mainland, a growth of ten per cent over the year before.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitor arrivals in package tours totalled 293,189 in March 2006, up 38.9% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China (251,654) and Hong Kong (9,726) grew 58.3% and 2.7% respectively; however, those from Taiwan, China decreased 69.7% to 8,574over March 2005. In the first quarter of 2006, visitors arrivals in package tours surged 25.9% over the same period of 2005 to 734,822. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours was 17,588 in March 2006, a year-on-year decrease of 9.9%. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 80.4%, 5.2% and 4.2% of the total respectively. In the first quarter of 2006, Macao residents (61,920) travelling in package tours went up 14.1% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 26,691 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by the travel agencies, an increase of 17.2% over March 2005; Mainland China (34.0%), Hong Kong (22.0%) and Taiwan, China (18.8%) were the major destinations. In the first quarter of 2006, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements surged 36.3% to 85,828 compared with the same period of 2005. At the end of March 2006, there were 11,297 guest rooms available in hotels and similar establishments, an increase of 712 rooms (+6.7%) over March 2005. In addition, a total of 399,412 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, a notable growth of 25.3% compared with March 2005. The average hotel occupancy rate reached 75.1% to show a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percentage points; the highest average was in the 3-star hotels, at 86.0%. The hotel guests stayed an average of 1.15 nights, which fell by 0.03 night compared with March last year. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (62.6%), Hong Kong (21.5%) and Taiwan, China (2.6%). In the first quarter of 2006, there were 1,066,858 hotel guests, up 17.3% over 2005. In this quarter, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 40.5% of the total number of tourists, which was slightly higher than the 40.4% recorded in the same period of 2005.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) joins hands with MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting System), one of the biggest TV channels in Korea, to present a Macau travelogue to 17 cities in Korea. This act seeks to raise Macau’s profile and further attract visitors from Korea to Macau. In March this year, Macau has been chosen as the shooting location for the last episode of the most popular TV series in Korea – “Princess Hours” of MBC Channel. The director of “Princess Hours” purposely featured Macau as the backdrop of the story in which many scenic spots were filmed. After the airing of the last episode, Macau has become very well received in Korea, and the word “Macau” became one of the highest searched keywords in the popular Korean website, Naver. At the same time, the Korean version of MGTO’s website was frequently visited. Grasping the opportunity, MGTO decided to strengthen promotion by creating a Macau travelogue with MBC, to further boost the popularity of Macau in Korea. At present, there is a daily direct flight between Macau and Seoul, and twice-weekly charter flight between Macau and Busan. In the first quarter of this year, some 48,000 visitors from Korea enjoyed the delights of the Macau SAR, representing a growth of 65%, lifting Korea to the top five of Macau’s major source markets. The 50-minute travelogue will be broadcasted in the program “333 World City Expedition” to be shown in 17 cities of Korea, including Busan, Daegu and Kwangju. In addition, this program will also be syndicated to other Asian countries. During the location shootings between May 10 and 20, the crew will be filming famous tourism spots, spas, restaurants, casinos, tourism facilities and so forth. This travelogue consists of three themes, “What to See”, “What to Eat” and “What to Do”. Chinese traditions such as firecrackers; Portuguese and Macanese cuisines; greyhound racing will all be introduced to the audience. MGTO believes that after broadcasting the travelogue, Macau will become a hot tourism destination for people in Korea. In addition, the travelogue will give Macau a wider appeal in Asia, to help diversify the visitor sources of Macau.
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The number of pick-pocketing cases have plunged 42.1% in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year, reflecting that Macao is a safe city by international standards. Releasing crime statistics for the first quarter of 2006 at a press conference today, Secretary for Security Mr Cheong Kuok Va said the significant drop was the direct result of a series of anti crime operations, which included the neutralisation of several such gangs. And despite a 7% increase in overall crimes, from 2,461 to 2,634 cases; violent crimes dropped 2% -- with rape and blackmail dropping by 75% and 50% respectively. No kidnapping was reported in this period and four homicide cases were reported and solved by the police. Mr Cheong said the overall increase was due mainly to forgery (+71.2%) and transferring counterfeit banknotes (+89.9%), Theft cases increased by 1.8%, with theft from vehicle, missing stolen motorcycles and burglaries by 19.5%, 15.3% and 15.5% respectively. Robbery and loansharking went up by 11.8% and 30.4%. The authorities repatriated 2,938 illegal immigrants and overstayers in the same period. Mr Cheong reiterated that the police would continue to its stepped up measures in preventing and combating crimes.
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