Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes attending Sunday’s Macau Forum as a guest speaker said that the government was studying the possibility of launching more night tourism events.
Senna Fernandes said that the government aimed for more night tourism products to encourage more tourists to choose to travel around the city after sunset, in an attempt to reduce the pressure caused by the large number of tourists travelling around the city during the daytime.
The tourism chief also said she expected the total number of visitor arrivals this year to reach 35 million, which would be a new record.
The weekly open-air debate is hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM in Areia Preta Park every Sunday.
Sunday’s focus of the forum was on Macau’s carrying capacity to receive tourists and possible improvements to the city’s tourism facilities.
Guest speaker Lei Cheok Kuan, the chairman of the Macau Central and Southern District Industry and Commerce Federation, said there existed favourable conditions for Macau to develop more night tourism products and that the government should study the feasibility of launching more tourism events of this kind.
Lei, also a vice-president of the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (Kai Fong), said that one possible night tourism event would be the setting-up of a permanent food street.Govt mulls more night tourism events: tourism chief
Fellow guest speaker Wu Keng Kuong, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, echoed Lei’s view, urging the government to develop more night tourism attractions.
Fellow guest Anthony Wong Ip Kin, a professor at the Tourism Management School of Sun Yat-sen University (also known as Zhongshan University) in Guangzhou, said big data analysis showed that most of Macau’s tourists are primarily visiting the St Paul’s Ruins and its surrounding areas.
Senna Fernandes said that the government was studying the launch of more night tourism events in various areas in the city, with the aim of encouraging more tourists to choose to visit alternative areas – not only the city’s major sightseeing landmarks – and also to visit the city during the night.
Senna Fernandes said the government aimed to announce the findings of a study of launching more night tourism events in the next quarter.
Senna Fernandes also said that the number of tourists to Macau increased by 8 percent in the first nine months of the year.
According to official data, Macau recorded 25.8 visitor arrivals.
She also noted that the number of overnight tourists has significantly increased.
The MGTO director said she expected the total number of tourists for this year to reach 35 million, which would be a seven percent increase.
