Gov’t focused on ‘optimizing’ tourist influx

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, clarified that the Macau government is not considering a cap on mainland tourists; rather, they are discussing measures to “control and optimize” Macau’s tourist influx through the central government, namely by dividing tourist flow between different borders and optimizing the individual visa scheme.
Mr Tam stated last week that the Macau government was planning to discuss with the central government a cap on mainland tourists.  On the sidelines of the Tourism Development Committee meet-
ing yesterday, the secretary further clarified that, for now, they will only be suggesting controls on the tourist influx.
“We do not want to implement a cap on [mainland] tourists. We need to optimize the number of tourists using individual visas. And we also need to discuss with Guangdong authorities how to coordinate and divide tourist flow between different borders,” he stressed.
Mr Tam acknowledged that the growing number of Chinese visitors has put pressure on Macau residents’ daily life and mobility around the city.
On the other hand, he also recognized that Macau’s tourism industry would be concerned if a cap on mainland tourists were implemented. “We have a growing number of tourists coming from China and of course companies want this. If I were an entrepreneur I would want the same because more tourists equals more business,” he added.
He stressed that the current number of tourists (31 million recorded last year) is adequate. But Macau’s administration will be discussing with Beijing the possibility of dividing tourist influx between different times of the year too, alleviating the pressure felt in Macau through public holidays like Chinese New Year or Golden Week.
The secretary did not disclose a calendar across which these discussions might take place but said they will be conducted “very soon.”
Mr Tam did not comment on whether the government will suggest if it is necessary to implement a quota scheme to regulate the number of tourists. “We will first discuss this matter with the central government (…) we are different from Hong Kong. They said they will be limiting the number of mainland tourists but here it’s not the case. We need to optimize and control [tourist influx],” he reiterated.
The policy, he stressed, is to be implemented progressively and will take into account existing infrastructures. He hinted that the optimization of the tourist influx policy could be adjusted according to the situation.
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, told reporters that once Macau’s infrastructures improve, the city might have a higher capacity to welcome a higher number of tourists. “At this moment we need to find ways to improve our situation. In the future, when we have more infrastructures and developments, we can re-consider [whether we can cope with more tourists visiting Macau]. Maybe we will be able to have a higher capacity when we have more infrastructures,” she added.
Members of the Tourism Development Committee presented suggestions on how to improve Macau’s tourism quality yesterday. Several members stressed that it is important to ensure residents’ quality of life and ease the pressure felt by a growing number of tourists in the city.
Member Wong Ian Man suggested that events such as the audiovisual mapping at St Paul’s Ruins should be organized at other historical sites to attract tourists to different parts of town.
Another member said that Macau is not a world tourism and leisure center, but rather a tourism and leisure center only focusing on China. He suggested the government try to promote Macau abroad and encourage tourists of other nationalities to visit the city, namely from the Middle East, Russia and Europe.
Other members hinted that there’s a need to discuss Macau’s capacity to welcome a growing number of tourists, since Macau residents’ daily life is being affected.
Mr Tam agreed with most opinions, but requested committee members have a little more patience, since the local government faces particular challenges, such as the lack of land.

tourism master plan to be completed in 30 months

A general plan for the development of Macau’s tourism industry will be completed in 30 months, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) announced yesterday. MGTO says that the tourism master plan will define both short- and long-term policies. It will provide policies for the next five, ten and fifteen years. The master plan will be open for bidding in March and, up until yesterday, 43 companies have presented tenders, including foreign ones; MGTO is hoping to accord one of them responsibility for the elaboration of the tourism master plan in the first half of this year.