The mainland is to open eight more cities for the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) for travel to Hong Kong and Macau starting from May 27, and Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday that MGTO will launch an online promotion campaign as a matter of priority, and also roll out offline activities in the second half of this year, with a view to launching different types of campaigns and activities in various cities.
The eight cities comprise Harbin in Heilongjiang province, Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Lanzhou in Gansu province, Lhasa in the Xizang Autonomous Region, Taiyuan in Shanxi province; Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xining in Qinghai province, and Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
“Due to the wide coverage of the eight cities, the residents there may not have the same awareness of [Macau’s tourism] products and, therefore, we hope to work with different travel agencies and partners to promote different types of activities in different cities,” Senna Fernandes told the media, adding that even though it was difficult to launch direct flights between Macau and any of the eight mainland cities at once, MGTO will strengthen cooperation with Macau’s neighbouring cities such as Zhuhai and Guangzhou, while also linking up with the aviation resources in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and making greater use of “Hengqin-Macau” tour groups to develop “multi-destination” tourism and form new tourism products.
The tourism chief made the remarks after the post-press conference of the “PATA Annual Summit” at the Grand Lisboa Palace Macau in Cotai.
MGTO vows to attract foreign visitors
Meanwhile, during the press conference, Senna Fernandes highlighted MGTO’s efforts to attract more foreign visitors, pointing out that while MGTO continues to solidify Macau’s top visitor source markets like mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, it is also doubling its promotional efforts “internationally” via the “tourism+ MICE; + culture; +sport and +other purpose” integrated attractions, while also continuously “reinforcing the appeal of Macau to travellers from around the world, and side by side with our East-meets-West heritage as well as integrated resources” via the government’s programme in revitalising the city’s old quarters.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland, according to Senna Fernandes, MGTO is now giving away 250,000 travel gifts to overseas visitors, i.e., special offers on air tickets, cross-border transport, and hotel accommodation.
MGTO is looking at developing the Muslim travel market, Senna Fernandes said, adding that although there are currently no certified halal restaurants in Macau, the government provided many training opportunities for the local tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, including inviting several imams – most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque – to talk about Muslim tourists’ cultural differences and how the industry can provide services to them, so as to address the travel needs of this clientele segment. She also said that there was a need to progressively open up different markets and recognise their needs, especially those who are predominantly halal. The tourism chief noted that MGTO has recently cooperated with an integrated resort (IR) operator in a training programme, part of which was about preparing halal food, hoping that a halal food and restaurant certification approach can be introduced in Macau to cater for their needs.
The term “halal” (Arabic for “permissible”) refers to food that is fit to eat according to Muslim religious customs.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes talks to reporters after yesterday’s post-press conference about the “PATA Annual Summit” at the Grand Lisboa Palace Macau in Cotai. – Photo: Yuki Lei
