Members of the government-appointed Central District Community Service Consultative Council voiced their worries during a regular meeting yesterday at the Activity Centre of the Patane Municipal Market about the expected “traffic congestion” during the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday, urging the government to ease possible holiday traffic jams by planning and implementing contingency measures in advance, as well as launching public transport arrangements as soon as possible, thus enabling the public to make their travel preparations well in advance.
Macau’s Year of the Dragon holiday takes place on February 9-14. In the mainland, the holiday lasts from February 10 through February 17.
Council member Chan Ngoi Chon mentioned Macau’s post-COVID-19 pandemic record of over 170,000 visitor arrivals during the three-day New Year’s Day holiday, saying that the upturn in the number of visitor arrivals did certainly have a positive effect on Macau’s tourism sector and economic development, but at the same time, the large number of visitors also put tremendous pressure on the traffic in the central district.
Following Chan’s remarks, fellow member Lei Kit Ian said he expected the number of visitor arrivals during the CNY holiday to be the same as or even higher than the one during the recent New Year holiday, urging the government to do its best to raise awareness of Macau’s traffic issues on social media platforms and its official ENJOY MACAO mobile app. He also urged the government to make proper preparations for its crowd management plans for tourist spots.
During this year’s first meeting of the council, fellow member Carlos Kun Kim Hong suggested the government organise some small concerts and other cultural entertainment activities on the “rooftop garden” of the new Light Rail Transit (LRT) Barra Station at weekends and public holidays, with the goal of creating a “special cultural circle” in the area.
Barra Station started operating on December 8.
In addition, council member Choi Tong urged the government to plan and promote diversified travel routes in conjunction with the new Barra transport hub to encourage tourists to explore its neighbourhood, which includes Ma Kok (aka A Ma) Temple.
Yesterday’s meeting was addressed by two Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) officials, who briefed the council members on a raft of the upcoming CNY events and MGTO’s future promotion campaign targeting Southeast Asian countries.
Members of the government-appointed Central District Community Service Consultative Council attend this year’s first regular meeting of the council at the Activity Centre of the Patane Municipal Market yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
