Not content with its state of play, Macau’s new tourism chief tells Prudence Lui the destination wants to diversify, including breaking out of its reliance on the casinos and Chinese market
Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes
Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) director
You’ve been MGTO’s deputy director since 1998. How has tourism in Macau changed over the years?
Macau had less than 10,000 rooms before. Now, we have about 30,000, and the industry has grown. We’ve got a lot more travel (consultants), hotels and different parties who feel they are part of Macau’s tourism as we begin to position it as a leisure destination. People are more aware about tourism in the city and how it affects them.
The most unexpected turning point was around 2002/2003, when we saw the liberalisation of the gaming industry in Macau followed by the opening of the China market through the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Another vital moment was when we achieved UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005. The international branding changed the old perception of Macau as a gaming centre.
About 25 million Chinese visitors visited Macau last year, while this Lunar New Year there were even scuffles at border crossings. What kind of impact is this having on other markets?
By Chinese, we mean China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mainland visitors account for 17 out of 28 million arrivals last year. We are pretty conscious about the need to diversify, which also explains why we recently appointed a marketing representative in Russia. In 2012, there were 26,844 Russian visitors (a rise of 62.6 per cent), and it’s a good market to draw as they tend to spend. In the long term, we’ll work on new markets and promote joint itineraries with neighbouring cities like Hong Kong. To be honest, Macau is small even though reclamation work is ongoing. If we want tourists to stay longer, we need to work with the region to attract people.
Regarding the chaos over Lunar New Year, the police are looking into it and we hope they implement some measures to ease traffic. Dissemination of information will also be improved, so people may obtain updated information earlier such as where to eat, retail hours and room rates if they plan to come in during crowded public holidays.
What other new markets are you exploring?
India has been on our list for a few years, but we may probably look at the Middle East in the future due to the spending potential of its travellers. To tap this market, we would not just need to promote but build international awareness among travel consultants and hoteliers. We still need to observe this market, so there will be no immediate action now. However, we’ve been exhibiting in Arabian Travel Market, and we also take advantage of the show to meet the trade and media.
But Macau’s visitor arrivals in 2012 almost hit the city’s capacity limit of 28.8 million. Is there really room for more tourists?
The estimation came from an ongoing capacity study by the Institute for Tourism Studies in 2011, commissioned by the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture. Capacity is a dynamic figure – a certain estimate at a certain period of time given facilities available. We have more hotels now, with an increase in supply coming over the next five years, a potential border crossing that will take a few years to come to fruition as the Light Rail System is being built and a ferry terminal to be ready by 2014. With these developments, capacity will change over time.
The Macau Policy Research Institute will also look at the existing policy of IVS and conduct future studies to see what improvements are possible. In fact, one of our tasks is to broaden traffic beyond hotspots like the Ruins of St Paul’s so that travellers explore nearby areas within walking distance. We will also look at developing community tourism in places such as Coloane, bringing people to different parts of the islands or even the northern areas. We are exploring how we can first work with the local community, put together attractions, then create itineraries and promote them to tourists. We hope to do this by the third quarter, especially for the area near the Ruins of St Paul’s.
What kind of new attractions are being planned?
Different hotels have introduced new things every now and then, and we’ve also added tourist attractions such as cultural performances that are more interactive. We also introduced a night parade over the Lunar New Year. Moreover, the Yellow House (the Macau Tourism and Cultural Activities Centre) has implemented a trial programme, where games are offered to kids while their parents search for information. In fact, (introducing new attractions) has to be a concerted effort by the private sector and government departments.
“In the long term, we’ll work on new markets and promote joint itineraries with neighbouring cities like Hong Kong.”
The city is becoming more expensive, thanks to the rise of upscale accommodation. Has the influx of close to 6,000 rooms had any impact on rates?
Most hotels in the Cotai area are high-end in terms of facilities, but you get what you pay. Occupancy rates are still high due to supply and demand. The average rate of five-star hotels went down slightly (3.3 per cent) last year, whereas mid-tier grew (three-star was up four per cent). We still have room, as average occupancy across all hotels was more than 80 per cent last year. Capacity seems to have been absorbed. I would say rooms of all categories are needed.
The city also caters for the lower-end market, with two-star hotels and guesthouses offering about 1,400 rooms. We are trying to enhance our lower-end offers, such as by launching a booking website dedicated to budget hotels last year as these premises don’t promote themselves very well. We worked with the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association on this. There are also new hotel projects in the pipeline, and we have seen investors who are interested in this segment.
What are your expectations for 2013?
I will be glad if we can maintain last year’s numbers. We are not after big numbers, and we need more tourists to stay overnight in hotels. They now tend to come and go within a day, but they can’t see Macau in depth. Another challenge is aviation. Although we don’t have influence over that, we hope to see more new destinations.
How does MGTO see the role of the travel trade?
In Macau, we work closely with travel consultants, hotels and restaurants. There are some 22 associations. We are trying to build awareness of tourism in Macau, raise the quality of the industry and create new events together. We still work with travel consultants around the world and they continue to play a vital role. We employ different methods of working with them in different markets. We create new packages with new components, as well as conduct training sessions and fam tours. In many of the main cities worldwide, travellers have matured so they tend to buy online directly. But in a lot of secondary cities in Europe, China and India, we still work with travel consultants.
As the first female director of MGTO, how would your leadership differ from your predecessor?
My predecessor (João Manuel Costa Antunes) spent over 20 years in MGTO, so I have big shoes to fill. MGTO has existed for a long time and has secured many projects. I will ensure these are taken care of. Leadership wise, I am trying to be more participative. With the change in our management team, some new department heads have come up with new ideas, so Macau will generally see new things. In 2013, we have new initiatives like an awareness campaign, which is a concerted effort with the Cultural Affairs Bureau to educate citizens about tourism, with the goal of building a ‘World Centre of Tourism and Leisure’.
This article was first published in TTG Asia, March 22 – April 4, 2013 issue, on page 6. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
