Tourism | Public consultation concerning family hostels launched

Helena de Senna Fernandes

The Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is kicking off its tracking study today to solicit public opinion and learn about residents’ current views regarding the opening of family hostels on the peninsula.
The MGTO said in a statement that arranged personnel will be interviewing residents in different districts in the region in street interviews. Until August 29, the survey will also be conducted through an online questionnaire. The study is only targeting residents who are above 18 years of age and have lived in the city for the past 12 months.
The MGTO already carried out a feasibility study on family hostels in 2014. At that time, the bureau collected a total of 2,243 samples through street surveys and online questionnaires.
Over 60 percent of the surveyed residents supported the idea of family hostels, provided that a range of conditions are met, such as the criteria for the development of family hostels, as well as overall planning and effective regulation by the Government.
However, the MGTO concluded that a high proportion of interviewees were not in favor of family hostel operation in their own community districts, and in general they expressed concerns about public security, hygienic conditions, traffic, housing prices and other issues. As a result, it was concluded that society had not reached a general consensus on the widely discussed topic.
Back in 2014, MGTO director Helena de Senna Fernandes said that the idea of having bed-and-breakfasts in the region had become increasingly popular, which prompted the Office to consider introducing family hostels.
She said that after the 2014 study on the issue, they would then “establish whether it would be appropriate to allow family hostels to become one of the accommodation options in Macau.” At that time, the MGTO was studying whether it had the “ability to transform whole buildings, or buildings with a few separate entrances for residents, into family hostels.”