The opening of affordable accommodation in traditional districts helps to reinvigorate them, director of Tourism Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said over the weekend.
On the sidelines of a hotel opening ceremony, the tourism official was asked to comment on the recent opening of affordable accommodation venues and the revamp of long-closed hotels in the city’s traditional districts.
Senna Fernandes agreed that these newly opened or revamped accommodations may not offer luxurious surroundings to their customers, but their strategic locations in the heart of the city will be appealing to many tourists whose itineraries may focus on the more traditional part of the city.
On the other hand, she believes that these more affordable hotels “will make the old part of town more vibrant and bring more people to stay around those areas.” In addition, she looks forward to seeing more lower-end to mid-range hotels in Macau.
The tourism bureau is also looking forward to a “more balanced” distribution of different levels of hotel rooms. It will also offer more choice for MICE-visitors.
She was also asked about the former New Century or Beijing Palace Hotel in Taipei. To which, she hinted that “possibly in the future, there may be some movements towards that.”
It was first raised by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng at a parliamentary question session that the city did not have enough longer-stay hotels.
He even revealed that mainland officials had had a hard time looking for accommodation when they visited Macau, whether on official or private occasions, because they are not supposed to stay at casino-hotel complexes. AL
