Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng said Sunday that the provisional findings of a survey on the possible implementation of a tourist tax show that the majority of the opinions collected suggest that the amount of the tourist tax should be in three digits.
Hoi made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s Macau Forum, the weekly debate programme hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM at its Macau Forum studio in Zape every Sunday.
The office launched an online survey in May to collect opinions from residents on the possible implementation of a tourist tax – an “entry fee” to be paid by tourists. The one-month online survey ended on June 20. The online questionnaire was intended for Macau residents aged at least 18.
In addition to the online questionnaire, MGTO also distributed questionnaires to members of the city’s tourism sector, and it also carried out a face-to-face survey of visitors leaving Macau at the city’s various border checkpoints.
Speaking to reporters, Hoi said that his office gathered 12,000 questionnaires submitted by local residents online, while 1,500 opinions were collected from visitors. Hoi acknowledged that the office only received 150 opinions from the city’s tourism sector. Hoi said that therefore his office would continue to push members of the tourism sector to express their views on the matter.
Hoi said that the provisional findings show that the opinions supporting the implementation of a tourist tax do not dominate, neither do the opinions against its implementation, adding that the opinions express a wide range of viewpoints. Hoi said that the majority of the opinions supporting such a tax suggest that the amount of the tax should be in three digits, meaning at least 100 patacas.(Macaunews)
