The annual Macao Food Festival is underway in Praça do Lago Sai Van for 17 days through December 1, and its organising committee chairman, lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo, said during Friday’s opening ceremony that all of the 140-plus exhibitors are local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the aim of supporting them to face the catering sector’s business challenges.
“The local catering industry has been facing a more volatile business environment due to changes in local consumer behaviour after the three-year COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the facilitation of immigration clearance between the nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the area’s two special administrative regions [Macau and Hong Kong],” Chan said in a speech. He pointed out the organising committee’s aim to further boost the sector’s “sustainable” development through the annual food festival as an “effective” platform: “Among the 140 exhibitors, nearly 50 percent are first-time participants”.
Chan also said that the theme of the “Double Celebration” of the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and 25th Anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland overlapping with the benefits of the four-day Macau Grand Prix, which took place between Thursday and yesterday, he hoped that the food festival would attract more “international” tourists and that they would extend their length of stay in Macau.
This year’s food-fest is divided into six “food streets” according to their respective cuisine, featuring Chinese, Japanese and Korean, as well as European dishes.
Friday’s ceremony was presided over by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, who, after the ceremony, walked around the food stalls and spoke to some of stall holders, accompanied by Chan.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right), accompanied by United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants Chairman Andrew Chan Chak Mo (left), visits a stallholder at the annual Macao Food Festival in Praça do Lago Sai Van, which kicked off on Friday and will end on December 1. – Photo: Yuki Lei
