The Government Tourist Office (MGTO) said on Monday that during two months it will collect public opinion on the draft of its Macau Tourism Development Master Plan which focuses, according to the office, on laying the foundation and setting the direction for the development of city’s tourism industry in the next 15 years.
The consultation process started on Monday.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong and other senior MGTO officials held a press conference on Monday to announce details of the draft and the public consultation process.
According to information provided during the press conference, the public consultation, which will run until July 22, will comprise two sessions for the general public, as well as sessions for different business sectors, associations and advisory bodies.
The draft proposes three guiding principles which “serve as the basis confirming the overall goals and formulating the development strategies” for the city’s tourism industry, namely a “comprehensive industry of leisure tourism, cultural tourism and quality tourism”.
According to the draft, the comprehensive industry of leisure tourism mainly focuses on offering diverse products and experiences for a wide variety of visitors, broadening visitor source markets.
Cultural tourism, according to the draft, focuses on elaborating the uniqueness of Macau’s history and culture, as well as promoting Macau as a culturally diverse destination.
The aim of quality tourism focuses on training and continuous management so that it can upgrade the sector’s overall service quality.
The draft also suggests four goals – the city’s tourism should grow in a sustainable way; tourism products should be diverse; a high-value visitor market should be developed; and the quality of tourism services should be improved.
There should be short-middle-long term strategies in place to reach the goals, the draft proposes.
The draft also presents two scenarios for 2025 including projections for visitor arrivals. In the low-visitor growth scenario the number of visitor arrivals in 2025 is estimated to be 33 to 35 million, based on an average annual visitor growth rate of one per cent to two per cent.
If there is modest growth in the number of visitor arrivals in 2025, the forecast is 38 to 40 million, based on an average annual visitor growth rate of three per cent to five per cent.
Addressing the press conference, Senna Fernandes said the estimated visitor figures for 2025 were based on the findings of a study by a consultancy company, adding that the figures also reflected various factors such as the development of tourism in different places.
The office said it is expected the final Macau Tourism Industry Development Master Plan to be completed by mid-2017.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
