Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said that the government’s crowd control measures in the city centre over the Chinese New Year holiday had so far been effective in providing a safer environment for pedestrians due to the huge number of tourists.
Cited by The Macau Post Daily, she also said that the government would review the measures as to whether they will be implemented again for the Chinese New Year holiday next year.
Senna Fernandes made the comments after attending the opening ceremony of a lion dance parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in Largo dos Bombeiros in Taipa’s old quarter.
The lion dance parade was organised by the Taipa and Coloane Industrial and Commercial Federation.
The government implemented crowd control measures in the city centre for the first time ever. The measures began last Thursday and will end on Sunday. They were launched in anticipation of a large number of tourists during the holiday period. The measures are put into action when the police consider there are too many pedestrians in the city centre.
Senna Fernandes said that based on observations over the two days (Sunday and Monday) the crowd control measures proved effective, allowing the flow of pedestrians to move more smoothly in San Ma Lou, which provided a safer environment for them. “Safety is most important and we hope there won’t be any unhappy incidents,” she said.
Senna Fernandes said that based on preliminary observations, the number of tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday period was larger than during last year’s. She said she believed that the rise in the number was partly due to the good weather this year.
Meanwhile, the departure halls of the Barrier Gate and Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal were filled with tourists leaving Macau yesterday afternoon as the end of the Chinese New Year holiday draws near.
There were long queues in the Barrier Gate departure hall as visitors headed to Zhuhai. There were similar scenes at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal’s ticket counters as passengers waited to purchase ferry tickets to Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but there were no major hassles. (macaunews)
