Students at the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) have come up with a stack of ideas to assist Red Market traders while the historic building is undergoing a two-year renovation.
A temporary market has been operating on Rua Marginal do Lam Mau since 29 March, however business at the new location is down by as much as 90 per cent and traders are suffering financial losses daily, the Macao Fishmongers Association’s chairman Kwan Vai Meng said.
To improve on the situation, IFTM entrepreneurship course leader Fernando Lourenço led students to research and develop ideas through industry analysis of over 30 wet markets or well-known local, regional and international marketplaces to get “significant insights”.
Students conducted around 200 interviews in the neighbourhood of Red Market and the temporary wet market to collect consumers’ opinions and intentions, as well as to identify potential challenges. The students also worked in teams to create marketing strategies and campaigns, and designed the temporary wet market’s exterior and interior “to enhance its attractiveness”.
Lourenço said that “valuable research, data, knowledge and ideas” were given to the Red Market and the association.
He added that there are several study outputs and strategies that can be used and examined to help the 127 small businesses to survive the current economic climate, which can also be used to influence Red Market’s design with better features, The Macau Post Daily reported.
