THE Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has rolled out incentives targeted at the wedding and student segments.
MGTO will reward groups of at least 50 people who stay a minimum of two consecutive nights at Macau’s hotels with MOP$300 (US$37.50) per overseas guest. Applications for the scheme must be submitted to MGTO 15 days before the first day of the event.
Overseas weddings are gaining traction among Gen Y Indians. Said Anshuman Mitra, managing director, Starlite DMC, a major wedding organiser: “This will be a year of weddings in Macau if they can also facilitate the ancillaries that are needed for Indian weddings, as these are easily available in Thailand.”
MGTO’s India representative, SanJeet, said: “In 2013, we expect to capture a bigger market share of outbound tourists from key tourist markets like Kolkata.” The NTO is intending to call on the trade in cities it has not ventured to before, such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Indore, Kolkata, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram.
In addition, MGTO is looking to bait school groups by increasing its incentives for this segment. MOP$300 per person will now be offered instead of MOP$200, plus welcome gifts.
Sanjay Maniar, director, Travelaid, who specialises in school group tours, said: “There is already good interest from school groups for Hong Kong and Macau. The MOP$300 incentive will certainly encourage greater numbers. Instead of the usual one-night stay, two-night stays will become more feasible.”
