Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said yesterday she hopes there will be 10 to 20 percent more spectators watching the Chinese New Year (CNY) parade this year.
She made the remarks during a press conference at Macau Tower about the annual parade. According to the presentation, the parade will take place on February 18 and 24, with a float parade, performances and firework display on either day.
Senna Fernandes said that based on the experience gathered over the past five years of holding the parade, MGTO has decided to make improvements to the event this year, such as changing the route of the parade, ensuring a seating capacity of 2,300 and installing canopies on the seated spectator stands so that the public can still watch the parade even when it’s raining.
With a new route for the parade on February 18, the event’s launch ceremony will now take place in Praça do Lago Sai Van at 8 p.m. with 15 floats and 1,000 local and visiting performers taking the parade along Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-sen to outside the Macau Science Centre in Nape, with seated spectator stands set up at different points along the parade. Free tickets are given out on a first-come-first-served basis.
The parade on February 24 will take place in the peninsula’s northern neighbourhoods, with the launch ceremony starting at Rua Norte do Patane at 8 p.m. After the parade, the floats will be taken to Praça do Tap Seac for exhibition until March 4.
Senna Fernandes said that this year’s budget is 27.9 million patacas, five percent more than last year’s mainly because of the new installations of canopies and more seats, as well as a 60 percent increase in the number of performers compared to last year.
According to Senna Fernandes, last year’s parade events attracted some 60,000 spectators and with the new measures this year, she hopes there will be a 10 to 20 percent increase, while for the CNY period, the city’s top tourism official said she was expecting a 1 to 3 percent increase in the number of visitors to the city.
Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Senna Fernandes said that Cecilia Tse Heng Sai, who on Monday resigned from her post as president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) for health reasons after being appointed on December 19 last year, would return to MGTO as a consultant and senior staff member. Prior to her appointment as culture chief, Tse had been one of the two MGTO vice directors since early 2013.
According to Senna Fernandes, Tse is on sick leave until mid-February.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes speaks to reporters at Macau Tower yesterday. Photo: Monica Leong
