Hotelier finds transport still challenging tourism’s further development

Difficulties in accessing transportation remain a major challenge to the city’s further tourism development, Rutger Verschuren, an executive at the Macau Hotel Association, said yesterday.

Verschuren, who is also a hotelier in Macau, made these comments in an exclusive interview with the Times on the sidelines of a lunch event hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce in Macao yesterday.

When asked which areas in Macau still require enhancement to support the development of the tourism industry – the main economic pillar of the city – Verschuren pointed towards local transportation.

“500 more taxis will definitely help ease the difficulties,” the hotelier said, but added that digital solutions should be embraced for hailing taxi services, similar to ride-hailing apps used in both the mainland and external territories.

Acknowledging that hailing private vehicles for rides is not legal in Macau, the hotelier suggested that the taxi industry move towards digitization.

He also expressed concern about the service attitude of taxi drivers, citing guest complaints about rude treatment during rides.

“I have been told by hotel guests that when they requested a route suggested by their navigation apps, some taxi drivers would start driving poorly, often accelerating and braking abruptly,” Verschuren revealed. “What is harmful is that news of this behavior spreads out of Macau and hurts Macau’s reputation.”

Regarding the workforce, the hotelier acknowledged improvements in recruitment challenges year-over-year, but new difficulties have emerged in finding the right people.

“We need to look for people with the right attitude and suitable language abilities. We have had a hard time finding quality, polite and hospitable employees who have the motivation to do the job,” the hotelier disclosed.

Utilizing staff across roles is one tactic employed to cope with the labor shortage, Verschuren said, explaining that some staff members are horizontally mobile across similar positions or responsibilities.

He thanked the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) for helping the hotel industry to fill vacancies, and reinstating a portion of pre-pandemic non-resident worker quotas.

He also suggested allowing non-local students in Macau to work part-time for limited hours each month to help mitigate the recruitment pressures.

Meanwhile, the hotelier is also confident with the hotel occupancy rate over the upcoming Lunar New Year period. In mainland China, the period equates to seven days of holiday.

Comments have emerged that mainland Chinese tourists are not as attracted to Macau and Hong Kong now that normal travel has resumed. This is due to a variety of factors, including visa-free policies in multiple Southeast Asian destinations and the smaller difference in exchange rates between the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong Dollar or Macau Pataca.

Despite this, the local hotelier remains optimistic.

“Frankly speaking, I do not see many hurdles, as Macau is very close to mainland China, so there is a lot of appeal from the perspective of the mass, premium mass, gaming, family, and couple-oriented markets,” Verschuren said. “We definitely see a very bright year ahead of us.”