Tourism | MGTO prepares for ‘golden week’

The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is “actively preparing” for the upcoming “golden week,” spanning from October 1 to 7. Yesterday the bureau announced several measures to be implemented during the week, including the dissemination of reminders and mobile text messages with relevant information to industry partners and visitors, and the arrangement of activities. There will also be MGTO staff stationed at different tourist locations to answer visitors’ enquiries and to introduce them to various tourist spots.
MGTO’s mobile text messaging service will be used to advise visitors about visiting sightseeing districts during off-peak hours. “Such tactics are adopted to divert visitors from crowded areas and to keep traffic and neighborhoods near tourist sites from being less affected, so as to maintain a positive image of Macau,” a representative from the MGTO has stated.
Preparing for the large influx of visitors, MGTO has sent out letters to travel industry professionals to raise awareness of hygiene, fire safety, guest capacity, opening hours, occupational guidelines of hosting tour groups, requirements for hotels and catering establishments to declare their price lists as well as for hotels to keep a record of hotel guest information upon check-in.
In order to assess the number of visitors, MGTO will post the number of visitor arrivals from every previous day online for the public during the period between September 27 and October 8.
MGTO also stressed that during the National Day holidays, there will be a range of festivals, events, performances, exhibitions and activities in Macau. The highlight is the ever-popular International Fireworks display contest.
It was announced on a separate note this week that a local promotional video was awarded the top prize in the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s tourism video competition.
Titled “Vibrant Moments Experience Macau”, the video was chosen as the winner  for East Asia and the Pacific, in the UNWTO Tourism Video Competition.
Launched for the first time, the competition aims to recognize creative works from UNWTO members in the field of destination promotion. Over 50 video clips were submitted, from which the judging panel selected the best clip for each of the regions including East Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe, Americas, South Asia as well as the Middle East.

‘more scrupulous inspections’

MGTO announced it will continue to collaborate with police authorities to combat illegal accommodation. The bureau announced that it “will carry out more scrupulous inspections at various tourist attractions, ports and districts in Macau.”