Lawmakers seek improved tourism experience, beyond numbers

Eight lawmakers took the opportunity to express opinions and suggestions to develop local tourism before the agenda of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) session.

Zheng Anting, Ma Chi Seng, Leong Sun Iok, Leong Hong Sai, Ho Ion Sang, Song Pek Kei, Che Sai Wang, and Angela Leong all delivered separate spoken inquiries to the government, focusing on two topics: how to diversify tourism routes and enable visitors to travel to lesser-known areas of the city, and how to improve these visitors’ experience while traveling in Macau.

Beyond the focus of government authorities on improving visitor numbers, the lawmakers noted the necessity of evaluating the experiences of the recent influx of visitors to guarantee a quality experience in Macau.

Zheng noted the need to evaluate the results of the pedestrianization of the Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro in 2023, and recent visitor experiences at Taipa old village.

“The government must evaluate the experiences of the last two years, especially regarding noise control, hygiene in community neighborhoods, and good traffic management, to improve the organization of similar activities during upcoming festive seasons and provide citizens and tourists with a better walking experience,” the lawmaker said.

The lawmaker also called on the government to create and extend the tourism itinerary to the “six big areas” currently the subject of various development projects by the gaming concessionaires, and improve public transportation and complementary facilities to link these new areas to others that attract a large number of tourists.

In a more unconventional proposal, Zheng also said, “Macau should take advantage of the possibilities to develop various coastal tourism projects, such as the creation of a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Island for luxury tourism.

He explained that this should be an island with exclusive access to yachts and helicopters.

“Recreational boats and helicopters can be used to boost the development of island tourism and foster ‘multi-destination’ coastal tourism. This can promote high-quality coastal tourism and accelerate tourism to maritime, island and coastal attractions, which will attract more visitors with a higher appetite for spending.”

Tourism capacity is also a concern

Lawmakers Leong Sun Iok and Leong Hong Sai shared similar concerns in addition to their concern for the local tourism capacity.

Leong Sun Iok noted the great agglomeration of tourists seen in the most attractive tourist areas, and observed that significant time is still required before the six gaming concessionaires’ projects will be ready.

The lawmaker wants the government to take further actions to avoid the crowding in just a few points and the diversion of some tourists to other areas, that due to being less known, do not receive many visits.

He also expressed concerns over the low capacity of local indoor facilities such as arenas and theaters, as well as the problems identified in the recent use of Taipa Stadium.

Leong Sun Iok noted that according to government officials, the Macao East Asian Games Dome is an “ideal” place for large-scale events, expressing hopes that this space can be better utilized than in the past.

Leong Hong Sai focused on overcrowding and the incapacity of certain infrastructures such as taxis and the crowd control measures. He noted that besides forcing the tourists to detour unnecessarily, the crowd control measures divert visitors from the stores they wish to visit and reduce their propensity to spend, which is contrary to the purpose of attracting more tourists to Macau.

The lawmaker noted that the government needs to improve signage and information to the public, particularly to tourists. There is also a need to define plans for tour bus parking in community neighborhoods and optimize pedestrian routes to popular places, while facilitating the commute for local residents.

Another aspect noted by the lawmaker is the lack of bins in the streets and popular tourist areas, as well as the need to increase the frequency of emptying and replacing bins. He called for the installation of temporary and mobile toilets in peak periods and for more rigorous cleaning of such facilities.

Lawmaker Ho Ion Sang also noted the need to revise the number of hotel rooms available in budget hotels.

Ho noted that while both budget hotels as well as the more luxury units are at almost full capacity during the holiday season, the number of rooms available at cheaper options is low. Similarly, the growth in rooms available is slow, and as such Ho called on the government to “incentivize investors to raise the offerings from budget hotels to cope with the needs of different types of tourists.”

Lawmaker Song, expressing concerns on the quality of transport services, reiterated a previously-shared idea about creating special bus routes and tourism buses to facilitate crowd management during holidays and weekends.

She also proposed that the government create special guides about community neighborhoods where visitors are detoured to inform tourists about the particularities of each neighborhood, including available food and shopping options.

Jockey Club land to provide a solution

Ho Ion Sang also addressed the capacity of the local venues, proposing that the land plot where the Macau Jockey Club is currently situated could be used to develop tourism and sporting projects to more effectively use public assets and reap the social and economic benefits of such a large space.

Without specifically mentioning the Jockey Club, lawmaker Song noted the need for the government to make “good use of idle and unused lands” to “increase tourism elements in community neighborhoods, for example, by building recreational facilities or shopping centers to reduce the imbalance in the development of tourism resources and foster Macau’s tourism market.”

The imbalance between the highly visited areas and those that do not receive many tourists was also mentioned by lawmakers Che and Angela Leong. However, neither made any concrete proposals about how to improve the dynamic of these community neighborhoods and attract tourists to them.