The highly celebrated “Helicopter Flight Experience Tour” received several thousand applications on its debut registration day on April 15 — far exceeding its quota of some 700 passengers — pushing the organizers into selecting the winners by drawing lots again.
In an interview with TDM, Deputy director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Ricky Hoi revealed that the quota for the tour is limited to around 700 owing to the limited passenger capacity of a helicopter and its flight schedule.
The deadline for the tour application is today, It will “soon” be followed by drawing lots digitally to select the participants.
Applicants who participated in the previous helicopter tour are also eligible for signing up for the flight this time, Hoi said, reassuring that the data of previously selected applicants had been erased.
Compared to the previous version dubbed “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours”, launched in June 2020, the current scheme not only includes six local tours, but also accommodation packages offered by the city’s over 70 hotels and inns.
Among them, two staycation packages by Jai Alai Hotel and Legend Palace Hotel also offer helicopter rides. Applicants who are not selected in the forthcoming lot may take these two packages, Hoi suggested.
The helicopter tour is one of the six local tour itineraries of the domestic travel scheme dubbed “Stay, Dine and See Macao,” and is also part of the government’s third round of stimulus packages.
The travel scheme has been jointly organized by multiple parties, including the MGTO, Association of Macau Tourist Agents, and Macau Travel Agency Association and Travel Industry Council of Macau.
The MGTO first unveiled the particulars of the program on April 14. On the day, the director of the MGTO, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, already hinted at the possibility of electronically drawing lots if the number of applicants for the helicopter tour exceeds the quota.
This time’s helicopter tour includes leisure and entertainment elements such as yacht sailing and afternoon tea following the aerial trip.
In the previous scheme, the helicopter tour received applications by over 30,000 applicants. The organizer thus doubled the quota with two rounds of electronic lots, and 2,600 passengers were chosen to join the helicopter tour.
Light festival highly
possible in December
There is a high probability of the annual light festival returning in December this year.
Hoi added that preparations have commenced. Preliminarily, the MGTO may ask non-local vendors to plan the contents of the light festival. Afterwards, a local workforce will compile their ideas into the actual display. Furthermore, the MGTO also hopes to include mainland Chinese teams in order to make the festival more multifaceted.
Another popular event of the city, the Fireworks Display Contest, is less likely to be held this year, according to Hoi. He explained that it is still unclear if foreign technicians can enter Macau to prepare for their show, as each year the contest attracts 10 non-local teams to compete for the award.
He stressed that an evaluation on whether the fireworks contest will be held is in progress. If it will be suspended for another year, complementary activities will be held, Hoi said. HT/AL
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