Residents living close to tourist sites complain of excessive crowding and noise

Residents living close to several major tourist sites have complained that the large number of visitors who visited Macau in 2024 is not respecting those who live in those areas and that there is excessive crowding and noise in many surrounding areas, Che Mei Leng, president of the Macao Sam Pa Mun Residents Mutual Aid Association, said in an interview with public broadcaster TDM.

Che said that residents living near the Ruins of Saint Paul’s have made several complaints over the year due to the excessive noise caused mostly by the use of megaphones by tourist guides.

She added that this happens when the number of tourists is particularly high, and the tour groups are large.

The same resident representative also noted that the guides are not following the routes created by the Macao Government Tourism Office and that they often detour into streets that are not part of these routes, causing further disturbance.

In the past, there were also many complaints from the residents living in these major tourist areas, including the entry of tourists into private residential buildings to sit on the staircases, eat, and even urinate.

In another interview with TDM, Lam Sao Chan, head of the Macao Tourist Guides Union, acknowledged that there are very specific rules and instructions that the guides must follow while performing their activities, which include the disclosure of the route and some details to the visitors even before they leave the buses.

Lam said that the association has also called on guides not to use their microphones and speaker systems too much while commuting on foot, using them only at specific locations where presentations and explanations are necessary.

The same official noted that tourists are a necessity for the survival of Macau’s economy and also called on residents not to exaggerate their complaints.