The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) launched its“Enjoy Deals· Macau Tour” subsidy plan to encourage local travel agencies to strengthen the promotion of Macau’s distinct tourism routes in the mainland market next year, aiming to attract more mainland tourists to visit Macau in the form of tour groups, in order to expand the city’s tourism base, boost Macau’s economic recovery and sustain the development of “quality tourism”, according to an MGTO statement on Friday.
The subsidy plan is now accepting applications from duly licensed travel agencies, the statement said, adding that if a group of at least 10 non-local residents is organised by a legally established and officially approved outbound travel agency in the mainland to visit Macau next year, the agency can submit the specified documents and plans to apply for the subsidy.
At the current stage, the statement noted, the tour groups must come from “four provinces and one municipality”, i.e., Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and Shanghai, and the whole group must depart from the same place. Each tour group must be received by local travel agents who are responsible for arranging the tour itinerary and lodging in licensed hotels.
The statement underlined that during the itinerary, a tourist coach must be used to pick up the tour group, which must be led by a local licensed tour guide. The statement stressed that no goods can be sold to the tourists by the travel agency nor can the itinerary include “enforced shopping” at designated places during the tour.
Subsidised travel agencies are required to submit the relevant information three days before the tour group arrives in Macau, and submit supporting documents within seven days of the tour group’s departure from the city, the statement said.
Each subsidy for the package tour will be calculated according to the number of people in the group, the departure point of the package tour and the number of hotel nights in Macau, according to the statement, which noted that the subsidy will be 150 patacas for one night for each traveller from Guangdong who stays in a hotel in Macau, and 300 patacas for two consecutive nights or more, while a subsidy of 250 patacas for one night and 400 patacas for two consecutive nights or more will be paid per tourist from cities outside Guangdong. Tours for children under two years of age based on the date of departure are not subsidised, the statement added.
Potential applicants with a total score of 50 points or above after the review are eligible to be shortlisted to participate in the subsidy plan and submit their applications. The selection criteria include listing the total number of mainland tour groups received in 2018 and 2019, submitting their 2023 proposal for mainland tour groups complete with their marketing plan, tour planning details, a list of mainland tour agencies that they cooperate with, and the measures to respond to an outbreak of COVID-19 during the tourists’ visit to Macau, according to the statement.
Local travel agents who are interested in participating in the plan are required to submit their documents for assessment on or before 1 p.m. on December 23 to MGTO’s reception counter on the 12th floor of Hotline Building in Nape during office hours.
Specific subsidy plan details and approval procedures can be found on the MGTO website: https://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo/cn/page/content.php?page_id=21403.
Enquiries can be made by calling 8397 1665 or by emailing gtscheme@macaotourism.gov.mo.
This poster provided by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Friday shows the details of the ‘Enjoy Deals· Macau Tour’ subsidy plan.
