News

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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Macau received over 450,000 arrivals during the Labor Day “golden week” holiday, a growth of 10% over the same period in 2005. Of the 450,000 visitors, over 60% were from Mainland China and recorded an increase of 9%. The Public Security Police Force figures show that from May 1 to May 7, visitor arrivals grew 10% over the same period last year to 457,165. Close to 289,000, or 63% of the arrivals are from Mainland China, a growth of 9%. Room supply of 3 to 5-star hotels has increased by 866 rooms to 10,534, a growth of 8.96% over the same period of 2005. The daily average number of room nights occupied during the “golden week” was 8,178, an increase of 633 rooms or 8.39% above that of last year. As the total number of hotel rooms has increased, coupled with a surge of 27% in average hotel room rate, the average occupancy rate dropped slightly. According to figures provided by the hotels in Macau, the average occupancy rate of 3 to 5-star hotels during the “golden week” was 77.63%, a modest drop of 0.41 percentage points. The average hotel room rate was MOP$793.08, a jump of 27.19% over the same period of last year. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and Guangdong Provincial Tourism Administration have jointly operated the “Labor Day Holiday Tourism Notifying System” from April 30 to May 7 to cope with the increase in visitor arrivals. MGTO also established a similar connection with Fujian Provincial Tourism Bureau to facilitate operation to welcome visitors. During the Labor Day holiday, staff of MGTO has suspended leave to reinforce supervision at various tourist attractions and entry checkpoints, while MGTO’s information counters and tourist hotline operated as usual. Close collaboration among various departments and the support of tourism and related entities helped to enhance the hospitality of the city to welcome visitors.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2006, a total of 748 companies were newly incorporated, with MOP191.27 million in registered capital. Compared with the same quarter of 2005, the number of newly incorporated companies and their registered capital increased 4.9% and 76.7% respectively. These newly incorporated companies engaged mostly in Wholesale and Retail (203), followed by Construction (178), Business Services (147) and Real Estate (64). On the other hand, 58 companies were dissolved in the first quarter of 2006, with MOP647.42 million in registered capital. Among them, most had engaged in Wholesale and Retail (20), followed by Real Estate (11). Among the stockholders of the newly incorporated companies, 59.5% were Macao residents. In addition, the newly incorporated companies with capital of MOP50 thousand or less accounted for 67.0% (501 companies) of the total number, whereas their capital only made up 7.7% of the total. Meanwhile, 693 of the newly incorporated companies were limited companies. Based on the residence of the stockholders, the capital of the newly incorporated companies in the first quarter of 2006 mostly came from Macao (MOP152.59 million), followed by Hong Kong (MOP23.40 million) and Mainland China (MOP8.89 million). Guangdong Province (MOP6.50 million) topped the list of the capital coming from the Pan-Pearl River Delta provinces. According to the combination of the residence of stockholders, 609 of the newly incorporated companies were established by stockholders from a single country/region, the majority of which (364 companies) were established solely by Macao stockholders, followed by those from Hong Kong (153 companies). The number of the newly incorporated companies with stockholders from Macao and other countries/regions was 110, of which 49 were joint ventures of Macao and Mainland China stockholders and 42 were of Macao and Hong Kong stockholders. The newly incorporated companies with stockholders solely from countries/regions other than Macao totalled 29, of which 7 were joint ventures of Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands and 7 were of Hong Kong and Mainland China.
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The labour and business sectors should conduct an open and direct dialogue to strengthen their communication, the Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said today. Speaking to the press this morning following the demonstration by a group of local workers last Monday (1 May), Mr Ho said that the rights of the public to express their views peacefully were enshrined in the Basic Law and the laws of Macao. He said he was pleased that some business organisations, especially those from the construction and industrial sectors, had started preparing for open dialogue with the labour sector. The Government valued the relationship between the labour and the business sectors and it had already conducted operations against illegal workers and was dealing with the issue of the importation of labour, Mr Ho said. He said that the Government understood the feelings of the demonstrators. But at the same time demonstrators should not violate public order or affect the daily lives of members of the public and the business operations. Mr Ho said that those who violate the law would be prosecuted.
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The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Chui Sai On, has returned from Thailand after leading a delegation to attend the 55th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Conference held in the beach resort of Pattaya between 23-27 April. During his visit, Mr Chui met with the Deputy Director of China National Tourism Administration, Mr Gu Zhaoxi, and the President of PATA, Mr Nobutaka Ishikure. Mr Chui and the delegation attended the opening ceremony and hosted a luncheon on behalf of the Macao Government for delegates from all over the world. At a speeh during the luncheon, Mr Chui said tourism is one of the most important economic pillars of Macao and having been named Historical City in the World Heritage List by UNESCO last year had further strengthened Macao's tourism brendname. Matching the theme of "Changing Lifestyles -- New Opportunities" for the conference this year, Mr Chui highlighted how to capitalise on new opportunities after human living patterns had changed and affected the travelling ways and manners -- an important study topic for the tourism industry. Mr Chui also attended the ministerial breakfast meeting where he exchanged views and updated the attendees on the latest development in Macao.. He also met with the Cambodia's Minister of Tourism, Mr Lay Prohas, when they agreed to strengthen co-operation and exchange. Mr Chui also invited Mr Lay to visit Macao. The Macao Government Tourist Office became a member of PATA in 1966: in 1983 a branch of PATA was set up in Macao. With the support of the Government and the tourism industry, the 54th PATA Annual Conference was held in Macao last year.
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Teaming up with Japan Airlines (JAL), Highest International Standards (HIS), the 2nd largest travel agency in Japan, co-organized a group of Japanese individual travelers who flew on JAL’s first charter flight to Macau on May 4. Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) welcomed the flight upon arrival. A full house of 230 passengers departed Nagoya late night on May 3 and arrived Macau at 1 a.m. on May 4. A group of Portuguese Folk Dancers distributed souvenirs to welcome the visitors from Japan. While HIS previously has worked with other airlines to organize charter flights to Macau, this is the first time that HIS is cooperating with the largest airline in Japan, JAL to organize a charter flight for 230 Japanese individual travelers to Macau for a 4-day visit. Established in 1951, Japan Airlines (JAL) is the largest airline company in Japan with over 100 offices and 14,000 staffs around the globe. At present, JAL operates airlinks with 213 airports in 35 countries and regions, with a total of 276 international air services (239 for passenger and 37 for freight) and 164 domestic passenger air services. This is also the first time for JAL to launch a flight to the Macau International Airport. This year, JAL plans to operate 800 charter flight services, an increase of 10% compared with last year. The charter flights include destinations such as Palau, Alaska, Alice Springs, Urumuqi and Ulan Bator. In addition, JAL will also operate charter flights for U.S. major-league baseball. In July this year, JAL will operate an own-use charter for a soccer team to Macau. MGTO has a good relationship with JAL and has received their delegation in January this year. The purpose of organizing the first charter flight cooperation between HIS and JAL to Macau is to explore the potential of the tourism market of Macau as well as the Macau International Airport. Japan is the 4th largest market for Macau. Last year, Macau received close to 170,000 visitors from Japan, an increment of 38% compared with 2004. By the end of May, MGTO will carry out large-scale promotional activities in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. With the theme of the “Historic Centre of Macau” and the “Macau Grand Prix”, MGTO wishes to encourage more visitors from Japan to visit Macau.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicates that, in March 2006, Macao’s total value of exports amounted to MOP1.74 billion, up 42.5% over the same month of 2005. Among this, the value of domestic exports increased 61.0% to MOP1.25 billion and the value of re-exports rose 10.5% to MOP494 million. Value of imports amounted to MOP2.95 billion, up 29.5% over the same period of 2005. A trade deficit of MOP1.21 billion was recorded this month. During the period of January – March 2006, the value of total exports increased 36.4% year-on-year to MOP4.77 billion. In addition, both the values of domestic exports and re-exports increased 47.7% and 11.3% respectively. Moreover, the value of imports amounted to MOP7.69 billion, up 28.3% over the same period of 2005. In the first three months of 2006, Macao’s trade balance registered a deficit of MOP2.92 billion. During this period, the exports/imports ratio increased from 58.4% in the corresponding period of 2005 to 62.1%. In the first three months of 2006, the value of Textile & garment exports, which accounted for 76.1% of the total exports, increased 42.6% over the same period of 2005. In addition, the value of Non-textile exports also rose 19.9%. As the major components of non-textile exports, Machines & apparatus, parts & accessories thereof and Footwear both expanded 8.7% and 7.7% respectively, year-on-year. The USA and the EU remained as Macao’s major export markets, together making up 68.2% of the total value of exports. Among this, exports to the USA, which made up 51.1% of the total value of exports, increased 52.3% over the same period of 2005; exports to the EU, which made up 17.1% of the total value of exports, also increased 77.6% over the same period of 2005. During the period of January – March 2006, Macao’s total value of imports increased 28.3% year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in the value of imports by broad economic categories, namely Fuels & lubricants (50.1%), Capital goods (28.8%), Consumer goods (28.1%) and Raw materials & semi-manufactures (22.4%). Meanwhile, Macao’s main suppliers of imported goods still concentrated in the Asian region. Imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong together constituted 53.0% of the total value of imports. Compared with the same period of 2005, the value of imports from Mainland China and Hong Kong rose 44.8% and 26.1% respectively.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service shows that in the first quarter of 2006, the average daily nominal wage of construction workers continued to rise. This upward trend had remained for seven consecutive quarters. The overall average daily nominal wage was MOP474, of which skilled workers & semi-skilled workers was MOP506 and unskilled workers MOP315. Among the various occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the average daily nominal wage of structural iron erectors was the highest, reaching MOP596. The overall nominal wage index increased 3.8% from the previous quarter. The nominal wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 2.8%, and that of unskilled workers went up 11.7%. Among the various occupations of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers, the nominal wage index of plumbers rose the most, up 10.5%, whereas that of scaffolders registered the largest decline, down 10.5%. On the other hand, the overall real wage index increased 2.7% compared with the fourth quarter of 2005. The real wage index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 1.7%, and that of unskilled workers went up 10.5%. Compared with the first quarter of 2005, the overall real wage index increased 19.9%, of which the index of skilled workers & semi-skilled workers rose 19.5%, and that of unskilled workers went up 22.9%.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that number of licensed vehicles in Macao reached 155,587 at the end of March 2006, of which 51% (79,824) were motorcycles and 42% (64,939) were light private vehicles. Registration of new vehicles grew by 8% year-on-year to 4,438 in the first quarter of 2006, motorcycles and light vehicles accounted for 61% and 36% respectively. In the first quarter of 2006, there were 3,092 cases of traffic accidents, an increase of 1% over the same period of 2005, resulting in 1,003 casualties and 4 of them were killed. Traffic flow by land between Macao and Mainland China rose by 8% to 777,075 vehicle trips. The Border Gate was the major passage that took up 82% of the total, while the Checkpoint of CoTai recorded 142,068 vehicle trips. In this quarter, arrivals and departures of commercial flights at the Macao International Airport totalled 11,296, up by 14% over 2005. Taiwan, China and Mainland China were the major routes that accounted for 48% and 34% of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. At the Outer Harbour, helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong registered a 10% year-on-year increase to 3,833. Besides, 720 helicopter flights were recorded between Macao and Mainland China. Passenger transport by sea between Hong Kong and Macao rose by 2% to 20,039 ferry trips compared with the first quarter of 2005, while passenger ferry run between Macao and Mainland China jumped by 37% to 3,600 trips. For containerized cargo, total seaborne container throughput was 29,206 TEUs or 21,332 seaborne containers handled, representing increases of 27% and 25% over the first quarter of 2005. Outward air cargos handled at the Macao International Airport registered a year-on-year drop of 3% to 20,278 tonnes in the first quarter of 2006. Major destinations were Taiwan, China; Mainland China and the United States, which accounted for 68%, 17% and 6% of the total outward cargos. Concurrently, inward air cargos fell slightly by 1% to 6,090 tonnes where those from Taiwan, China accounted for 91% of the total. Moreover, transit cargos by air showed a notable year-on-year increase of 43% to reach 27,540 tonnes in the first quarter of 2006. At the end of March 2006, number of fixed line telephone totalled 174,749, mobile telephone and stored value GSM card users reached 548,147 when the number of internet services subscribers increased by 15% to 92,291. The cumulative usage of internet services reached 25.11 million hours in the first quarter of 2006, up by 58% over the same period of 2005.
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