Tourism | Opinion poll shows support for new walking tour routes

A survey carried out by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has shown that residents and local businesses are generally supportive of the new walking tour routes. The routes were launched last year to divert visitors, encouraging them to experience Macau beyond its famed neighborhoods.
On a scale from 0 to 10, residents and business owners gave the new routes an average score of 6.71, said MGTO’s deputy director, Cheng Wai Tong, in a press conference yesterday. However, only 29.6 percent of those approached for the survey were aware of MGTO’s new walking tour routes.
The new routes that were launched last year explore St Anthony’s Parish, Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Our Lady of Carmel Parish and St Francis Xavier Parish, and include tourist landmarks such as the Macau Reservoir, Guia Fortress, Tap Seac, Lou Lim Ieoc Garden, Rua da Felicidade, the Mandarin’s House, Lilau neighborhood, and the Kun Iam Ecumenical Center, among others.
A total of 1,257 people were asked to fill in a questionnaire, which was completed in person via an interview on Macau’s streets. MGTO commissioned the study to a private research institute, which carried out the opinion poll between May and June using five main channels: street surveys; online questionnaires; collecting social opinions; Internet searches; and informal surveys carried out in local cafés.
According to MGTO, interviewees in all four parishes have shown above-average levels of acceptance toward the new routes. Residents agreed that the routes will have a positive effect on local businesses, but they also worry about subsequent traffic congestion. MGTO’s deputy director also said that 37 percent of interviewees provided “practical suggestions,” which mainly address ways to improve the supporting transportation system and also public and tourism facilities.
Web-users, residents and business owners who filled in the questionnaire showed a degree of support for the new routes, giving the routes an 8.33 out of 10. They also showed, however, a 7.91 degree of concern. Opinions published through social media, as well as an Internet search for media outlets’ reports on the new routes, were also taken into account for the survey.
Visitors’ and marketing professionals’ opinions were also recorded, with representatives suggesting improvements to tourism signage, the introduction of attractions, the perfection of public and tourist facilities, and transport facilitation.
MGTO’s deputy director said that his department is pondering whether to launch more walking tour routes, but there is no concrete plan for now. “When we have a more concrete idea, we will launch more routes. At this moment, I don’t have an exact calendar,” he stressed.

MGTO expects visitors to increase in golden week

The Macau Government Tourist Office’s deputy director, Mr Cheng Wai Tong, said that they expect an increase in the number of tourists visiting Macau over Golden Week. Without providing a concrete forecast, Cheng Wai Tong told a press conference yesterday that, between January and August, the number of visitors increased by almost 8 percent, and that usually “the same percentage applies to the upcoming Golden Week.” Last year, over 1.4 million people visited Macau during the Golden Week between September 27 and October 7. One of the measures on the table for this year is setting up higher safety barriers in Almeida Ribeiro, as tourists often tend to jump over them to shorten their journeys.