Rui Pastorin
Around 230 participants in 10 groups joined the local tours on the first day of the resumed “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement noted that since last Tuesday, the programme has started accepting signups for local tours, with a total of 3,011 people signing up on the first four days (September14 – 17).
The statement underlined that the programme’s continuation coincides with the launch of the 13 adjusted itineraries for this month for its third phase.
The statement pointed out that on the first day of its resumption, the participants visited Cotai, Macau Tower, and took part on a boat trip that included a dinner buffet. The statement added that the popular helicopter tours have also resumed.
Addition of daily-run itineraries
According to the statement, the programme now offers daily tours for certain itineraries in addition to weekends and public holidays. The statement said that the new arrangement has been made due to demand by residents, support for tourism-related sectors’ workers, and the encouragement of stimulating tourism-related industries.
As part of the required procedure, the statement emphasised that all tour participants must wear facemasks, undergo temperature checks, and present valid Macau Health Codes upon arrival at the meeting points.
“Stay, Dine and See Macao” grants subsidies for residents until end of year
The statement underlined that the local tours and the hotel staycation experience under the “Stay, Dine and see Macao” project will run until December 31.
According to the statement, permanent and non-permanent Macau residents are entitled to a one-time subsidy for local tours and staycations under the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme, adding that visitors are also able to join the tours but only at full price.
Steady rise in visitor arrivals last week
Meanwhile, the statement also said that between September 10-16, Macau’s visitor arrivals reached 201,891. The statement noted that the average daily visitor arrivals stood at 28,842, which climbed by 19.9 percent compared to the average daily visitor arrivals (24,050) of the previous period (September 3-9) and surged by 118 percent compared with the average daily visitor arrivals in August.
The statement also pointed out that in terms of hotel occupancy, the average hotel occupancy rate between September 10-16 reached 51.6 percent, a rise of 5.4 percentage points compared to the previous week’s (September 3-9) occupancy rate, which was 46.2 percent, a considerable increase of 26.5 percentage points compared to the number in August.
MGTO emphasised that it will continue to pay close attention to the latest COVID-19 pandemic situation while making arrangements for all the activities according to Health Bureau (SSM) guidelines. MGTO also reminded the public that in case of adverse weather, applicants are recommended to stay tuned to the latest activity arrangements.
Details about the enrolment in local tours, staycations, and information about various travel agencies are available at: https://www.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/article/subsidies/macao-tour-hotel. Enquiries can also be made by calling 8396 3052 or 2838 9153 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily.
This handout photo taken on Saturday and provided by MGTO shows some of the participants during the first day of the resumption of “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme posing in the arrival hall of the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.
