“The Crunch and Munch Fair – Fiesta for Five” will take place on Estrada do Istmo, informally known as Cotai Strip, between Friday and December 26, Wu Tat Chong, president of the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau ZAPE, said during a press conference yesterday at the Macau World Trade Centre on Avenida da Amizade.
“Fiesta” is a Spanish word that means “party”, “festival” and “holiday”.
A total of 106 booths will be set up in the first-ever event comprising food, cultural creations and performing arts.
According to Wu, the 11-day event, which is co-hosted by the association and the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), in conjunction with the city’s six gaming operators, is a continuation of the large-scale 4K documentary “Crunch and Munch in Macao” jointly produced by the China Media Group (CMG) Film, Drama and Documentary Programming Centre and the association. The documentary premiered on CCTV-9 on December 20 last year.
Wu said that aside from local exhibitors, the event will also include 10 exhibitors from four cities in the mainland that have also been awarded the title of “Creative Cities of Gastronomy” by UNESCO, namely Chengdu, Huai’an, Shunde and Yangzhou, to create a “unique food culture festival” through the use of food as a carrier, combining tourism, cultural creativity, MICE, performing arts, and film and television, so that tourists and residents can enjoy a wide range of food and entertainment activities, while experiencing the innovative vitality of the “Creative Cities of Gastronomy” from a different perspective.
Wu noted that special booths for Chinese and Portuguese-speaking cultures will be set up to display the products and food with Chinese and Portuguese-speaking cultural characteristics, in the hope of showcasing the diverse cultures of China and the Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) that enable visitors and residents to feel the “immersive experience” of Chinese and Portuguese-speaking cultures.
In order to fully display the charm of Macau as a “World Tourism and Leisure Centre”, Wu said, the dining area is designed in an “outdoor camping and leisure style”.
According to the press conference, exhibitors will be required to hold both rapid antigen test (RAT) and nucleic acid test (NAT) results valid on the day, while fairgoers only need to show their green Macau Health Code before participating in the event.
Exhibitors and their staff members must report confirmed cases of COVID-19 to the organisers immediately once they have been diagnosed with the disease.
Free shuttle buses will be provided during the event daily from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The press conference was also attended by MGTO acting director Ricky Hoi Io Meng and Wu Kam Hon, vice president of the association.
Adjusted COVID-19 prevention measures attract HK tourists
Meanwhile, Hoi told the media on the sidelines of the press conference that in addition to promoting local tourism in the mainland, MGTO has also been conducting promotion activities targeting the Hong Kong and overseas markets. Hoi pointed out that tourists from the mainland and Hong Kong have different preferences, adding that MGTO and its counterpart in Hong Kong have collected market data to analyse the willingness and preferences of Hong Kong tourists to travel to Macau once the travelling restrictions between Macau and Hong Kong have been eased. Hoi was quick to add that Macau’s recently adjusted COVID-19 prevention and control measures have already encouraged Hong Kong tourists to visit Macau.
Concerning Macau’s adjustment of its COVID-19 pandemic prevention policy at the same time as the mainland, Hoi said, the policy has brought “positive psychological benefits” to tourists coming to Macau, adding he believed that tourists could easily understand the current COVID-19 situation in Macau as the local government has promoted its pandemic prevention work on many online platforms in the mainland.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) acting director Ricky Hoi Io Meng talks to the media on the sidelines of yesterday’s press conference about ‘The Crunch and Munch Fair - Fiesta for Five’, at the Macau World Trade Centre on Avenida da Amizade.
– Photo: Yuki Lei
