MGTO licensing proposal may be presented to AL this year

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is eyeing having its proposal, which was submitted to the Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ), presented to the Legislative Assembly this year.

MGTO’s director Helena de Senna Fernandes recalled that the second draft it submitted to DSAJ still featured several basic tranches of legislation similar to the current law, yet asserted the possibility of temporary licenses for Food & Beverage outlets within hotel premises.

The proposal represents a significant change in comparison to the current licensing process.

“It’s very difficult for us to work under the current legal framework. It’s not possible for us to just drop over the legal procedures, we cannot selectively apply certain regulations. So the only thing we can do is to change the law, that’s the big plan,” the official explicated.

Fernandes was speaking on the sidelines of a talk she gave at the British Business Association of Macau last week.

“They [DSAJ] have to look at it and give us some feedback as to whether or not the draft is good enough. […] If everything goes well, that will be tabled to the Legislative Assembly this year, so with that there will be quite a lot of changes in terms of current licensing procedure,” Senna Fernandes added.

However, the MGTO head noted that the processing would still take some time as only a draft had been submitted and it has not yet progressed onto the next stage.

Briefly commenting on the rumor that Suncity Group Holdings Ltd had acquired the troubled Beijing Imperial Palace Hotel and Greek Mythology Casino, the MGTO head only expressed concern that it had not received any licensing application from the junket operator and AMAX International Holdings.

“At this point in time, there is nothing that MGTO can say because we haven’t received any formal application from any party,” she told the press.

“It is a building, but licenses have already been canceled – it is not a hotel at this time, and having not received any new applications from this party, we [MGTO] cannot tell for sure what’s going to become […] of it,” Senna Fernandes said.

Meanwhile, the official laid out the bureau’s plan for the next four years in regards to the 2018 Macau Year of Gastronomy, which will excel in a number of events and activities.

“We’ve actually done more than what we have promised to UNESCO in the four-year plan. […] We’re trying to get all our different partners together as to what is being done and what we need to fulfill in the next couple of years,” Fernandes disclosed.

She added that members of the committee who have assisted in Macau’s application to UNESCO to become a gastronomic city are currently working to fulfill activities that would be undertaken in the next four years.

With the MGTO chief elected as Pacific Asia Travel Association’s (PATA) secretary-treasurer, Senna Fernandes said that Macau needs to be more active in these kinds of associations to help boost Macau’s tourism image so it may continue to be featured on international platforms.