Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernando’s told reporters yesterday that a total of 18 floats will be taking part in this year’s Parade for the Celebration of the Chinese New Year (CNY), with over 1,000 performers participating in the event, including some from Hong Kong after a three-year absence.
Senna Fernando said she believed that the number of spectators along the two-day float parade would reach about 80,000, similar to that of last year, adding that 1,500 seats will be available this year, which will be double that of last year.
The Year of Rabbit falls on Sunday.
The two-day float parade will take place next Tuesday, the third day of the CNY, and next Saturday, the seventh day of the CNY, in the city centre and northern district respectively.
The seventh day of the CNY is also known as Everyone’s Birthday, i.e., the symbolic birth of humanity.
Senna Fernando made the remarks after yesterday’s traditional ceremony for the blessing of the upcoming float parade in Sai Van Lake Square.
According to Senna Fernando, the event will adopt a combination of online and offline modes to expand the audience. This year, she pointed out, in addition to the float from the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, floats from Chimelong Paradise and Shenzhen will also participate in the parade.
Meanwhile, regarding the “buy-one-get-one-free” transport offers for overnight Hong Kong travellers, Senna Fernando said that a budget of 30 million patacas has been set aside for the offers to be used until the end of March, adding that no quota has been set for the offers each day, which will be adjusted in line with the bus and ferry passenger movement between Hong Kong and Macau after the CNY.
In recent days, Senna Fernando noted, Macau recorded an average daily number of over 7,000 Hong Kong tourists, with over 10,000 visitor arrivals on various days.
With the current increase in traffic capacity, such as the resumption of ferry services, Senna Fernando said she expected Macau to record “8,000 to 10,000” visitor arrivals from Hong Kong daily. However, she added: “We aren’t focused on the number of visitor arrivals but more on the length of their stay in Macau.” The extension of tourists’ stay in Macau would have a “good follow-up effect” on civil society and local neighbourhoods’ economy, she pointed out.
After the CNY, MGTO will continue to discuss with the Hong Kong tourism sector the launch of “small tour groups in multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), or people carriers,” according to Senna Fernando, who pointed out that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong people much preferred “small tour groups’’ to travel with relatives and friends. Senna Fernando also said that after the reopening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), both tourism sectors of Hong Kong and Macau believed that different forms of tour groups could be introduced to attract more tourists.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes talks to reporters after yesterday’s traditional ceremony for blessing the upcoming CNY float parade at Sai Van Lake Square. – Photo: Yuki Lei
