The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) says that lots will be drawn to assign places to applicants for its hotly sought-after “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour”.
The office said in a statement on Friday that the chopper ride has been “attracting a multitude of enthusiastic applicants.”
The chopper ride-cum-yacht check-in is one of the segments of its “Stay, Dine and See Macao” government-subsidised tourism promotion drive in response to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy.
“Given the limited quotas and to uphold the principle of fairness in the process of quota distribution, lots will be drawn to assign quotas to applicants, the statement said, adding that residents can apply at accredited travel agencies to enter the lots before 6 p.m. today.
After the application deadline, MGTO will conduct electronic lots tomorrow and announce the results on the same day. In accordance with the order of the lots’ results, applicants will be assigned their respective order of priority to sign up for the tour. If quotas are full on their pre-selected tour dates, applicants numbered by the lots can opt for other tour dates, but cannot change their prior preference of tour dates unless quotas are full on the respective dates, the statement said.
A total of 756 participants can join the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour” within the quotas, the statement noted, adding that each applicant who is numbered by the lots will be eligible for two places to join the tour. Applicants who are listed by the lots but unable to join the tour within the quotas will be put on the waiting list to queue for remaining quotas. Likewise, listed applicants on the waiting list will take up the quotas in order if new quotas are added later under feasible conditions during the first stage of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme from April to June. If applicants listed by the lots give up on joining the tour, they will not be included on the waiting list again. The travel agencies concerned will notify applicants of the lots’ results, confirm their dates of participation and arrange for payments in respective order, the statement noted.
The subsidised helicopter rides proved extremely popular when MGTO held a similar tourism promotion drive last year.
The Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour costs 518 patacas including high tea on the yacht pier. The “yacht check-in” offers participants the chance to take photos aboard the vessel moored at the pier.
A mechanic stands in front of one of the helicopter used for last year’s government-subsidised local tours, at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal. Photo Prisca Tang
