Tourism Master Plan | Macau could reach 40 million tourists by 2025

After two years of studies and public consultations, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) presented yesterday the Tourism Industry Development Master Plan, which aims to set the blueprint for local tourism sector development in the upcoming 15 years.

The extensive document was presented at the Macau Tower to an audience composed mostly of media and tourism industry professionals, highlighting eight key goals from the in-depth analysis of the current situation and prospects for the upcoming years.

MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that the eight key objectives and strategies are “Diversify Tourism Products and Experiences; Improve Service Quality and Skills; Rebrand Macau as Multi-day Destination and Expand High-value Markets; Optimize Urban Development Model; Manage Macau Tourism Carrying Capacity; Utilize Innovative Technology; Enhance Tourism Industry Cooperation and Enhance Macau’s Position as a Core Tourism City in the Regional and International Tourism Community.” 

Senna Fernandes noted that those would be the “guidelines” that Macau needs to work on to achieve its overall goal.

Presenting a less abstract explanation of the works to be developed, the deputy director of MGTO, Cheng Wai Tong, noted that after doing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, the Macau airport and the quality of local tourism products were elected as “two [of] our main weaknesses where there is room for improvement.”

Cheng also noted the importance of regional cooperation, saying that Macau needs to connect with neighboring regions in many aspects, especially due to the region’s lack of land resources which makes Macau “unsuitable for entertaining developments of large scale, such as theme parks,” Cheng noted.

The plan proposes that areas A, B and C of the new landfills be used to “develop iconic tourism facilities” included in the government plan to improve on facilities and adopt a more “family-friendly” approach to tourism in Macau.

Another plan mentioned was to utilize the waterfront areas of Macau to develop “marine tourism products” for potential hotel industry expansion and diversification.

According to the figures, Macau is estimated to reach between 38 and 40 million visitors by 2025, a figure that represents growth of 3 to 5 percent per annum.

Using this growth rate, considered the “modest visitor growth scenario,” the number of hotel rooms could reach almost 52,000 by the same time, an estimated growth of 22 percent compared to 2016.

Chen addressed the controversial issue of tourism capacity, citing results of surveys conducted by the MGTO.

“Society told us that we need to balance,” he said. Problems such as transportation, congestion and high agglomeration of people and traffic on touristic sites and lack of quality options are the main problems highlighted in surveys taken by tourists and local residents.

The Master Plan was also said to be closely related to the government’s Five-Year Development Plan of the MSAR, especially in terms of the transformation of Macau into a “Smart City” with the inclusion of “Innovative Technology” such as e-booking and e-payment services, as well as digital platforms for promotion and advertising to be put in place.

Another topic frequently mentioned during the press conference was the capacity of the local workforce in the tourism field, with deputy director Cheng noting: “In the past, the jobs related to the tourism industry were seen as low in the chain, but we need to change this and engage more local people [in] these careers, as well as provide opportunities for the ones [already in the business] to improve their knowledge and skills.” He noted the clear lack of skilled workers in the sector.

In her talk, Helena de Senna Fernandes remarked that “besides being a place for leisure and gaming,” Macau should also be a “place for the residents to have quality life, good restaurants, good sports events as well as world heritage sites,” and that “all this should be included in the goal of World Center for Tourism and Leisure.”

The director of MGTO announced that a cross-departmental Master Plan Steering Group will be established following the release of the Master Plan.
The group – headed by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam – will promote interdepartmental collaboration and oversee the implementation progress of the action plans, as well as conduct annual reviews on the progress of the plan.

There will also be mid-term reviews, although it was not made clear in the document at which point in time such reviews would commence.

Key objectives presented five years ago 

The eight key objectives and strategies included in the Master Plan presented yesterday are similar to the ones drafted in the document back in 2012 – “PATA/Macau Task Force Report on Macau Tourism Positioning: Towards a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.” At that time, ten strategies were recommended to achieve the goal set by the World Center of Tourism and Leisure. These included the eight key objectives listed yesterday as well as two others: “Develop a Comprehensive Macau Tourism Master Plan and Create an Umbrella Destination Management Organization.”