The dazzle of a gaming destination belies Macau’s cultural charm and heritage, but change is underway to connect tourists with communities that call the territory home
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has been endeavouring to help visitors discover Macau’s lesser-known districts, engaging local associations and communities in its bid to get walking tours and cultural activities on the tourist radar.
To encourage visitors to experience Macau’s local colour, MGTO has over the past three years launched eight walking tour routes as part of its ongoing Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities initiative. It also supports local associations in organising tourism activities such as exhibitions, performances and carnivals around the eight themed routes.
MGTO director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said: “As local associations actively organise activities and maintain good communication with members of relevant industries in the community, they in general maintain a broader network and strong reputation in the community… This leads to positive effect and contribution to the development of community tourism.”
In the recent three years, the number of district associations taking part in the Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities initiative has grown from six to 13, the number of activities supported from 12 to 40, and the number of participants from 42,000 to 700,000.
Some successful examples include Reel Fun, a 90-minute cruise organised by the Fishermen’s Mutual Help Association and MGTO last year with support from the Marine and Water Bureau; and pedicab promotional activities such as photo taking and rides by the Macao Pedicab Drivers Union.
“This year we will continue to allocate resources to this initiative to lure visitors to extend their length of stay and experience Macau in depth,” said de Senna Fernandes.
Tourism suppliers such as Best Western Hotel Sun Sun Macao is also keen to promote community-based tourism by displaying a sightseeing map of Macau with recommendations in its lobby.
The hotel’s COO, Charles Huang, explained: “We mainly showcase lesser-known tourism resources available in our neighbourhood, ranging from historical spots and traditional eateries to a bakery operated by the older generation.
“When MGTO rolled out a hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour late last year, we also packaged it with our hotel accommodation. Our next move is to support the local creative industry by engaging local artists to exhibit their art pieces in the hotel,” he added.
The response to MGTO’s walking tours among travel agents has been varied though.
“FITs from Guangdong Province, South-east Asia and Hong Kong tend to like walking tours if they stay for three days,” observed Johnny Choi, director
of sales at Estoril Tour Travel. “The younger generation may be fond of this idea as they can download apps on their mobile devices that can guide them through the district.”
Choi is selective about the walking tour itineraries as not all are deemed interesting to his clients. He said: “So far, we only pick routes emphasising creativity such as those that cover Tap Seac area where the different styles of architecture are rich and varied.”
Air Cruise’s executive director, Eric Chang, said: “MGTO has proactive promotions in Europe and the US so we don’t have to push the tours aggressively. Despite overseas agents’ interest, the volume of traffic is still small due to the very small longhaul market.
“However, local tour operators don’t agree with this walking tour concept as it doesn’t involve any coach services at all and brings no income.”
This article was first published in TTG Asia, April 1, 2016 issue, on page 22 To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
