News

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, is scheduled to visit Qionghai, Hainan tomorrow to attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2006 on Saturday. During his visit, he is scheduled to meet with Mr Wei Liucheng, the Governor of Hainan Province, and visit Sanya and Haikou, two cities in the southernmost island province of China. The BFA Annual Conference 2006, titled ''New Opportunities of Asia: Driving Growth to the Next Level'', will be held this Saturday and Sunday, with political leaders, businessmen, experts and scholars worldwide to discuss issues such as the reform and opening of China's banking system, energy prices, the future of Internet in China and other topics in the economic and financial areas. Mr Ho's delegation includes the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen; the Chief-of-Office of the Office of the Chief Executive, Mr Ho Veng On; the President of the Administrative Committee of Macao Foundation, Mr Vitor Ng; the Director of the Government Information Bureau, Mr Chan Chi Ping; the Director of the Supporting Office to the Secretariat of China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Economic Cooperation Forum (Macao), Ms Rita Botelho dos Santos; and the Executive Director of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Cheong Chou Weng. The Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va, will be Acting Chief Executive while Mr Ho is away.
…

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) and the Ministry of Transport of Malaysia (MOT Malaysia) held air consultations in Putrajaya on 20 April 2006 to discuss the enhancement of the air transport market between the two places. The meeting was held in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and generated satisfactory results with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding. The signatories were the President of AACM, Mr. Chan Weng Hong and the Secretary General of MOT Malaysia, Dato’ Hj. Muhd Safaruddin Hj. Muhd Sidek. The bilateral air services agreement and the old Memorandum of Understanding between Macao and Malaysia were signed in 1995. According to the old Memorandum, the capacity was limited to 7 flights per week by each side and the number of beyond points was limited to 2. With the new Memorandum, it creates more advantageous conditions to the development of both passenger and air cargo market between the two sides: no limitation on frequency, the type of aircraft used and the number of beyond points, and exercise of full fifth freedom rights. Malaysia has always been a popular tourist destination for both the Macao and Hong Kong residents. With the success of the Macau International Airport in attracting the low cost carrier, AirAsia, to operate services between Macao and Kuala Lumpur, the air transport market between the two places has been enhanced. Together with the opening up of the individual traveling market from the mainland, in addition to the increase in the number of Macao residents traveling to Malaysia, the number of people from Hong Kong and the mainland who visit Malaysia via Macao has also increased. On the other hand, the number of tourists from Malaysia traveling to Macao has greatly risen. In accordance with the data from the Statistics and Census Bureau, the number of tourists from Malaysia coming to Macao was increased from 48,391 in 2004 to 98,450 in 2005, a rise of more than a double. The 2005 figure also ranked the highest in terms of the number of tourists from Southeast Asian countries to Macao. Due to the fact that the old capacity no longer met the demand, AACM and MOT Malaysia met in November last year in Macao to discuss the development of the air transport market between the two places. Both sides agreed that there was a need to renew the old Memorandum of Understanding. At present, AirAsia provides 2 daily flights between Macao and Kuala Lumpur. The airline is planning to operate 1 daily flight between Macao and Kota Kinabalu starting July this year. In addition to government officials from AACM and MOT Malaysia, representatives from the airlines and the airports in Malaysia also participated in the meeting.
…

According to the information released by the Statistics and Census Service, there were 138 schools or institutions providing regular education, including 12 institutions of higher education recognized by the Government of Macao SAR and 126 schools that offered pre-primary, primary and secondary education (including vocational-technical secondary education) in the academic year 2004/2005. Among those providing pre-primary, primary and secondary education, 106 were private schools and 85 of them have joined the universal basic education network. Besides, there were 13 schools providing special education. Regarding adult education, the Education Survey has collected information from 129 establishments offering adult education. Number of teachers engaged in regular education increased by 9.4% over the previous academic year to 5,958. Among them, 4,457 were teaching in pre-primary, primary and secondary education, while 1,501 were teaching in higher education. Number of teachers engaged in special education and adult education were 104 and 1,659 respectively, representing decreases of 10.3% and 27.8% compared with the previous academic year. At the end of the academic year 2004/2005, there were 108,407 students attending regular education, down by 1.9% over the previous academic year. Among them, 94,440 were studying in pre-primary, primary and secondary education and 13,967 were studying in higher education. At the same time, number of students studying in special education was 555, a decrease of 2.3% over the academic year 2003/2004, while students enrolled in adult education totalled 89,480, down by 6.9% over the previous academic year. The teacher/student ratio was 1 to 21.2 in pre-primary, primary and secondary education; 1 to 9.3 in higher education; 1 to 5.3 and 1 to 53.9 in special and adult education respectively. In addition, the average class size in pre-primary, primary and secondary education was 38.4 and the class promotion rate was 89.1%.
…

The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is informed respectively by the Italy Consulate-General in Hong Kong, the Government of the British Virgin Islands, and the Government of East Timor, that the holders of the Macao SAR Passport have been granted visa-free access to San Marino, British Virgin Islands, and visa-on-arrival at any port of entry in East Timor. Presently, a total of 72 countries and territories have already agreed to grant visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to the Macao SAR passport holders, including 57 countries and 13 territories with mutual visa exemption, and 2 countries granting visa upon arrival.
…

The “Macau Business Tourism Centre” of Macau Government Tourist Office, conveniently located at Senado Square, was officially opened (April 18) today. The opening ceremony was officiated by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government, Chui Sai On. Accompanied by guests, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Chui Sai On performed the eye-dotting ceremony of the lion dance and lit the firecrackers in front of the building to mark the official opening of the “Macau Business Tourism Centre”. The opening ceremony concluded with a plaque-unveiling by the Secretary. Addressing the ceremony, Director of MGTO João Manuel Costa Antunes said that the large-scale convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities soon to be opened in Macau will provide favorable conditions for the development of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, and Macau has to capitalize on the opportunities to nurture the territory into a prominent business tourism destination in the region. He stressed that this is the right time to establish a business tourism center within the structure of MGTO to promote the development of business tourism in Macau. He pointed out that the objective of setting up the “Macau Business Tourism Centre” is to establish a platform for the business tourism industry to communicate; to understand the needs of the local industry and strengthen the liaison work among the trade. Guests present at the opening ceremony included officials from governmental departments, members of the Committee for Tourism Development, members of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, representatives from the convention and exhibition industry, travel industry and media. Members of the Media Mega Familiarization Group invited by MGTO to visit Macau also participated in the opening ceremony to learn about the function of the Centre with the other guests. The “Macau Business Tourism Centre” is located at Senado Square, the former headquarters of MGTO. Covering a total area of 2,187 sq meters and costing MOP7 million to renovate, this five-storey building includes an information counter and a gallery on the ground floor; a computer research centre on the first floor; marketing, industry support, research, training and bidding units on second floor; events/projects unit on the third floor and a video and slides archive on the fourth floor. To celebrate the opening of the “Macau Business Tourism Centre”, the gallery on the ground floor will stage a “Macau World Heritage” photo exhibition to magnify the promotion effect of “ 2006 Macau World Heritage Year”.
…

Immigration authorities recorded a total of 1,265,764 crossing the five immigration checkpoints of the Macao SAR over the Easter holidays (April 14 to 17 ) Total number of arrivals stood at 635,645 with Border-gate 478,994 Lotus Bridge 3,193 Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 128,988 Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 6,430
Macao International Airport 18,040 Total of departures stood at 630,119 with Border-gate 481,204 Lotus Bridge 3,506 Outer Harbor Ferry Terminal 122,958 Inner Harbor Wharf Nº14 4,481 Macao International Airport 17,970 Meanwhile, total number of tourists entering Macao in that period stood at 316,175,with a growth of 14.93% over the same period of last year.
…

The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) invited nearly a hundred media from 13 countries and regions to Macau for a 5-day visit. The Media Mega Familiarization Group will be visiting the World Heritage of Macau as well as new tourism products and facilities. With more update knowledge on the tourism situation of Macau, the media will in turn assist in promoting the industry and lift the international profile of Macau. The Media Mega Familiarization Group is the biggest international media group that MGTO has organized in recent years, and is among the series of activities of the “2006 Macau World Heritage Year” Campaign. The 90 some international media representatives are from the Mainland, Taiwan China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, India, the Philippines, USA, UK and Australia. They include editors and photographers from journals, magazines and electronic media, among which most of them are tourism related media. The Group has started their 5-day visit in Macau on 17th April. Addressing the Group at the Tourism and Cultural Activities Centre, MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes expressed that MGTO has invited almost one hundred media representatives from around the world to visit Macau this time, one of the largest familiarization groups of such kind in recent years. He hoped that with this familiarization trip, the media representatives could share with their home markets Macau’s World Heritage and the city’s tourism development to further promote Macau as one of the prime tourism destinations in the Asia Pacific region. The Group is going to visit over 20 heritage sites of the “Historic Centre of Macau”, as well as the Grand Prix Museum, Wine Museum and various new tourism products and facilities including the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, Macau East Asian Games Dome, among others. The Media Mega Familiarization Group has also participated at the inauguration ceremony of the Macau Business Tourism Centre this afternoon, April 18th. In the evening, the Group participated at a welcome dinner hosted by MGTO at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. Every year, MGTO receives familiarization groups from different sectors, many of which are media representatives from all over the world. Members of the groups will share their first hand experiences gained in Macau with the target source markets when they return home. The media participating in the familiarization trip this time range from long-haul markets to the nearby region, and the trip will arm them with knowledge about the city’s new tourism products that would enable them to promote Macau’s cultural and business tourism in their home markets.
…

Information from Statistics and Census Service indicated that Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the first quarter of 2006 was 115.26, up by 3.44% over the previous quarter. Due to higher prices in jewellery, caused by the rising gold prices; in hotel accommodation during the Chinese new year, as well as the chinese food in restaurant, indices of Miscellaneous goods; Accommodation and Restaurant service rose by 8.67%, 8.21% and 1.44% respectively. On the other hand, Clothing & footwear was the only section that recorded a decrease (-0.15%) in the index, resulted from reduced prices in men’s clothing. Compared with the first quarter of 2005, TPI rose by 4.59% in this quarter, with notable increases in the indices of Miscellaneous goods (+12.24%), Restaurant service (+4.52%), and Clothing & footwear (+4.23%). On the other hand, Accommodation (-0.35%) was the only one that registered decrease. The average of last four quarter ended in the 1st quarter of 2006 TPI increased by 2.92% over the last four quarter ended in the 1st quarter of 2005. TPI is an indicator used to reflect the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled based on the consumption pattern of visitors derived from the Visitor Expenditure Survey. TPI covers 8 sections of goods and services, namely Food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, Clothing and footwear, Accommodation, Restaurant service, Transport and communications, Medicine and personal goods, Entertainment and culture, as well as Miscellaneous goods. The base year of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.
…

The Macao SAR Government would put in place a tougher mechanism against money launderers and those whose funds could be finance terrorists. Spokesman for the Executive Council, Mr Tong Chi Kin, disclosed today that the council had met and discussed the proposed Anti Money Laundering and Anti Terrorism Funding By-law. Last week the Legislative Council passed two pieces of legislation: the Anti-money Laundering Law and the Anti-terrorism Law. The Anti Money Law provided for the formation of a supervisory body to ensure the enforcement. Following this, the Executive Council met today and introduced the Anti Money Laundering and Anti Terrorism Funding By-law. Mr Tong said that according to the proposed By-law, all signs of suspicious acts or transactions must be reported to the supervisory body. Failure to do so carries fines of up to five millions Patacas. The By-law lists out the responsibilities of individuals and legal persons. It also lists out the responsibilities of various government departments, associations, groups and parties who at present are monitoring various activities, such as finance, banking and gaming. Parties such as law and accountancy are also included. They will be required to report all suspicious acts to the supervisory body within two days. Fines of 10,000 patacas to 500,000 patacas could be levied on individual offenders and 100,000 patacas to 5 million patacas for legal persons. The sum of money that will require reporting would vary according to the types of business and transactions. This would be decided after consultation with the relevant parties. The By-law will go into effect 180 days after it is published in the SAR Gazette.
…

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that visitors arrivals in package tours totalled 240,573, up 26.8% over February 2005. In view of the Chinese New Year holidays, visitors from Mainland China (196,061) and Hong Kong (10,504) had remarkable growths of 36.2% and 18.5% respectively; however, those from Taiwan, China (10,839) decreased 47.7% over February 2005. In the first two months of 2006, visitors arrived in package tours grew 18.6% over the same period of 2005 to 441,633. Number of Macao residents travelling in package tours totalled 15,321 in February, a year-on-year decrease of 31.6%. Mainland China; Thailand; and Taiwan, China were the three more popular tour itineraries, which accounted for 68.3%, 10.3% and 5.3% of the total respectively. In the first two months of 2006, Macao residents (44,332) travelling in package tours went up 27.5% compared with the same period of 2005. Meanwhile, 27,073 residents travelled under own arrangements using services provided by the travel agencies, an increase of 20.7% over February 2005; Mainland China (37.5%), Hong Kong (22.8%) and Taiwan, China (14.2%) were the major destinations. In the first two months, Macao residents travelled under such arrangements surged 47.1% to 59,137 compared with the same period of 2005. At the end of February 2006, there were 11,041 rooms available in hotels and similar establishments, an increase of 860 rooms (+8.4%) over February 2005. In addition, a total of 340,115 guests checked into hotels and similar establishments, up 18.0% over February 2005. The average hotel occupancy rate was 72.2%, a notable increase of 6.8 percentage points; the highest average was in 3-star hotels, at 79.5%. The hotel guests stayed an average of 1.16 nights, same as that of February 2005. The majority of the guests came from Mainland China (60.5%), Hong Kong (24.0%) and Taiwan, China (2.6%). In the first two months of 2006, there were 667,446 hotel guests, up 12.9% over 2005. In the first two months of 2006, hotel guests (excluding Macao residents) accounted for 38.7% of the total number of tourists, which was lower than the 39.8% recorded in same period of 2005.
…