The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said in a statement yesterday that 15,552 local residents had applied for its hotly sought-after “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour” before the 6 p.m. deadline on Monday, and electronic lots were drawn at the office at 3 p.m. yesterday to assign seats to the lucky applicants.
According to the statement, the 15,552 applicants were each assigned a sequence number randomly by the electronic lots. Applicants numbered 1 to 756 were each given two quotas to join the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour”, meaning that a total of 1,512 participants can join the tour, the statement said.
The statement said that those who had applied for the tour were able check out the list of the lucky applicants numbered 1 to 1,000 by the lots on the office’s website https://www.macaotourism.gov.mo from 7 p.m. yesterday, while the applicants numbered 1 to 756 will be notified by the travel agencies concerned.
The remaining 244 applicants are on the waiting list.
The statement said that given that the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour” will start on Sunday. The lucky applicants are required to confirm their date of participation and the names of the participants as well as pay the fees at the corresponding travel agencies between yesterday and 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The statement said that if the lucky applicants do not complete the application formalities within the required period, they will be regarded as having given up their quotas and consequently will not be added to the waiting list. The rest of the applicants on the waiting list – i.e. those numbered beyond 756 by the lots – will take up quotas in order, awaiting subsequent notification from the travel agencies concerned, the statement said.
The statement noted that from this month to June, the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour” will take place every weekend and on public holidays, departing at three time slots (2 p.m., 2:45 p.m. or 3 p.m.). The participants must be aged between 4 and 80, the statement said, adding that residents who are 32 weeks pregnant or over are not allowed to join the tour.
The statement also noted that every helicopter can accommodate up to 12 passengers, adding that participants will be assigned seats designated by helicopter staff upon their arrival.
According to the statement, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong, and three representatives of the local tourism sector jointly pressed the button for lots casting yesterday.
The government-subsidised fare for the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour” is 518 patacas per person.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (second from right), Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong (first from right), and three unnamed local tourism sector representatives jointly press the button to start yesterday’s lucky draw at the office to assign seats to applicants for the “Helicopter Ride Experience and Yacht Check-in Tour”. Photo: MGTO
