The organizers of the International Cultural and Food Festival have arranged for the event to be held over the time of the Mid-Autumn festival and National Day this year, in an attempt to lure more visitors both locally and from abroad.
The eight-day event, which made its debut at the Fisherman’s Wharf in 2010, will this year celebrate its sixth edition and is set to be held at the same location. Harry Wu and Vincent Ieong, two of the organizers, unveiled the gastronomic event’s highlights yesterday afternoon in a media briefing. The food stalls will be furnished to mimic the territory’s streetscape as it appeared in the 1970s.
The pair expressed optimism regarding the prospect of the food fest, and indicated that the organizers have shelled out MOP1 million in advertising it throughout the Pearl River Delta. Last year, the Macao Foundation financed the culinary exposition to the tune of roughly MOP6.5 million. Nonetheless, the organizers are yet to disclose the budget for this year’s festival.
Regarding visitor turnout, the duo were confident that the event would attract as many participants as last year’s did, with the caveat that the outcome would be subject to the weather during that period. The organizers recorded around 200,000 visits to the event last year.
It was reported that one third of the exhibition zone would be dedicated to local restauranteurs, while the rest is to be set aside for exhibitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia among others. Local eatery owners have been encouraged to apply for free.
Asked if the food festival could survive without government financial support, Wu conceded that the strain on human resources would make it impossible.
“With the shortage of manpower, the restaurants alone are already feeling the pressure, and even asked us if we could supply human resources for catering,” he said. “Their difficulties happen to be ours. It’s rather hard to hire that many people who will have to be paid triple for working on festival days.” Staff reporter
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