A total of five restaurants and 12 food factories in Macau have been awarded halal certificates, and a ceremony presenting the awards was held yesterday at Macau Tower.
The Macau government has launched a campaign urging more restaurants in Macau to acquire halal certification status, as part of its policy of attracting more foreign tourists from the Islamic world, as well as considering an expected increase number of Muslim travellers from the mainland because some of the mainland cities that were added to the central government’s Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) earlier this year have larger Muslim communities than other mainland cities.
Yesterday’s ceremony was organised by the Macau Industrial Association, in collaboration with the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong, and Macau’s Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT), Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), and Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM).
The halal certificates for the 17 restaurants and food factories have been awarded by the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong pointed out that Macau recorded over 14 million visitor arrivals during the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of about 50 percent, while the number of foreign visitor arrivals increased 175 percent year on year during the period.
Lei said that the increase in the number of foreign visitor arrivals during the first five months of this year partially resulted from an increase in the number of tourists from several Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
Lei also noted that 10 mainland cities were added to the central government’s Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) earlier this year such as Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan, meaning that Macau now has a greater diversity of tourist groups, he said.
The policy secretary said that the new situation has increased the need for Macau to have more certified halal restaurants.
After Shaanxi province’s capital of Xi’an and Shandong province’s port city of Qingdao were added to the Individual Visit Scheme on March 6 this year, eight more cities were added to the scheme on May 27, namely Shanxi province’s Taiyuan, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s Hohhot, Heilongjiang province’s Harbin, the Xizang Autonomous Region’s Lhasa, Gansu province’s Lanzhou, Qinghai province’s Xining, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region’s Yinchuan, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region’s Urumqi.
According to an IPIM statement yesterday, about 180 representatives from local companies attended yesterday’s ceremony, which also included a presentation session briefing participants on how restaurants and other similar businesses can apply to be awarded halal certificates.
Macau Industrial Association Chairman António Chui Yuk Lum noted during yesterday’s event that the globe has a Muslim population of around two billion, because of which, he said, catering for the culinary needs of Muslim travellers will create plenty of business opportunities.
Chui said he expected more restaurants and food factories in Macau to apply for halal certificates after yesterday’s event, providing more choices for tourists from the Islamic world.
Guests such as Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong (front, centre), Macau Industrial Association Chairman Antonio Chui Yuk Lum (front, sixth from left) and IPIM’s President U U Sang (fifth from left) pose for photos with representatives of 17 local restaurants and food factories (back) awarded halal certificates, at Macau Tower yesterday. – Photo: IPIM
