The 67th Grand Prix Macau has been reduced to five racing categories and shortened to three days, from November 20 to 22, Sports Bureau (ID) President and Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee Coordinator Pun Weng Kun said yesterday.
Pun made the remarks during a press conference about the upcoming “Tour Macau Carnival” at Macau Tower.
According to Pun, this year’s Grand Prix will present five races – Formula 4 Macau Grand Prix, Macau GT Cup, Macau Guia Race, Macau Touring Car Cup, and Greater Bay Area GT Cup.
The Macau Grand Prix is usually a four-day event with six different category races – the Motorcycle Grand Prix, FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), WTCR (World Touring Car Cup) Macau Guia Race, GT Cup, Macau Touring Car Cup, Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, and FIA GT World Cup 2.
Briton Rob Huff, the only racer not from Asia, said via a video recording yesterday that he will be competing in the Macau Guia Race, adding that his journey to Macau was long and difficult but safe. He also said that Macau was one of his favourite racetracks and he was looking forward to taking part in this year’s Grand Prix. Huff, a nine-time winner of the Guia Race, is currently undergoing 14-day quarantine and medical observation at a local hotel designated by the government. The local Guia Race drivers include Rodolfo Ávila and Eurico de Jesus
Pun noted that this year’s Grand Prix is budgeted at 274 million patacas, of which 220 million patacas have already been spent, stressing that this is not the final figure. He also said that the tickets will be unchanged from last year.
When asked how many spectators he was expecting, Pun said that in the spectator area the seats have been reduced from over 14,000 to 10,000 but he was “confident” about the turnout. He also said that like previous years, the organising committee recruited 600 temporary staff but added that he expected few media at the event due to travel restrictions. He also said that CCTV 5 will be streaming the event, which he hoped would attract more people to watch the races via other platforms.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Lei Chin Ion said at the press conference that performers and competitors of the Grand Prix will need to take the nucleic acid test (NAT) every seven days. He added that spectators need not be tested prior to the event but need to have their temperature checked and their Macau Health Code ready. He stressed that spectators must wear their masks at all times, and are only allowed to take off their masks in designated areas.
Food-fest & more
Meanwhile, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes noted that until October 25 a daily average of 21,000 visitors entered Macau from the mainland, adding that at its peak 25,000 visitors entered Macau from the mainland in one day. She pointed out that occasionally there are more tourists entering the city during weekdays than over the weekends.
Senna Fernandes said that along with the Grand Prix this year, there will be nine more events happening, including the “20th Macau Food Festival” and “3rd Annual Macau Winter Carnival”, for which she expects half a million and 140,000 attendees respectively. She added that she does not worry that the other events will clash with the Grand Prix because, for example, the races take place during the daytime and the food-fest starts only at 5 p.m.
The chairman of the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau, Kenneth Lei U Weng, said that this year’s food festival, which will take place from November 13-29, had 195 sign-ups while only 128 booths are available. He said that in order to support new small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the organisers have chosen 48 restaurants, which have never taken part before, to join the festival. He also said that he has recruited 300 part-timers for the event, adding that some of them are unemployed tour guides.
‘Best time to visit Macau’
Kenneth Lei also said that this was “the best time” to visit Macau because there are a lot of hotel deals, activities, and good food.
Senna Fernandes said that her office was using social media platforms to offer hotel discounts and flight deals. She noted that until October 25, the government has spent 3.54 million yuan (4.25 million patacas) on subsidies for tourists. She said the subsidies had helped to generate over 80 million yuan for the local economy. She also pointed out that the government had spent 8.9 million patacas on hotel subsidies and as a result 26,462 nights of hotel stay were booked.
Senna Fernandes stressed that promoting the message that visitors from low-risk regions in the mainland are exempt from 14-day quarantine and medical observation upon arrival at Macau was the most important task at the moment.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said at the press conference that organising mega events not only benefits Macau’s tourism industry but also other local sectors with a range of employment opportunities being created. She added that she estimated that the Grand Prix, food-fest and other activities in the “Tour Macau Carnival” series will create job opportunities of more than 100,000 person-days in total for sectors such as construction, catering, wholesale and retail, advertising and manufacturing.
Ao Ieong said that the government has been collaborating with CCTV-5, online influencers and various social media platforms in the mainland to raise Macau’s attractiveness as a travel destination. She also encouraged residents to share and post about Macau’s upcoming events to help promote the city.
Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee Coordinator Chong Coc Veng (from left to right), Sports Bureau (ID) President and Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee Coordinator Pun Weng Kun, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Lei Chin Ion, United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macau Chairman Kenneth Lei U Weng give a press conference on the upcoming “Tour Macau Carnival” at Macau Tower yesterday. Photo: GCS
Sports Bureau (ID) President and Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee Coordinator Pun Weng Kun addresses yesterday’s press conference. Photo: GCS
