MGTO Representatives

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Macao Travel News

“Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme well received, helps support tourism industry

A total of 10 additional itineraries were added to the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” programme, to meet the high demand from locals

The “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme, which started in June, is proving helpful in supporting the local tourism trade. The scheme has generated a positive response from the community, prompting organisers to make 10 additional itineraries available under the programme, bringing the total to 25 options.

More than 100,000 people have signed up to take tours offered by the scheme as of 31 July. The satisfaction rate among tour participants stood at 85 percent, according to the preliminary results of an ongoing survey of people that have taken part in any of the tours. 

The Macao SAR Government hopes the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours”, in parallel with its plan for economic recovery, will lead to the gradual resumption of tourism activities in Macao. By 15 July, 155 travel agencies and 616 tour guides were involved in the programme, supported by a fleet of 501 tour buses from the private sector.

The scheme is among the actions taken by the Macao SAR Government to help the community ride out the economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 15 itineraries offered in the first phase of “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours”: six of them were community-based tours and nine were leisure tours. By 31 July, about two-thirds of the bookings had been made for leisure-related tours.

Starting 22 July, 10 additional itineraries were made available. These included seven new community-based tours and three new leisure tours, The offering of new routes followed suggestions received from the community regarding the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme.

One of the new tours available includes a helicopter ride, for which a lucky draw to allocate the available places was conducted due to its high popularity. Other tours include a visit to the Light Rapid Transit railway depot in Cotai, an opportunity to go aboard a private jet parked at Macao International Airport, and the chance to see inside the State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences at Macau University of Science and Technology. Among the other options, people can also opt to take photography tours.

People can go to any travel agency taking part in the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme and sign up for a tour. The programme runs until 30 September. Included in the price of the tours are transport, sightseeing, food and drink, the guides and insurance.

Holders of the Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card or the Macao SAR Non-Permanent Resident Identity Card are eligible for a subsidy of MOP280 for every approved tour, up to a maximum of two tours (one per category), i.e. a total per-person subsidy of MOP560.

Upon using their available subsidy, Macao ID Card holders can still take part in tours in either category but will be required to pay the full amount. Tourists and non-Macao ID Card holders can also join the tours, upon paying the full fee.

The “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” are coordinated by MGTO, sponsored by the Macao Foundation and undertaken by a task force formed by the Macau Travel Agency Association, the Association of Macao Tourist Agents and the Travel Industry Council of Macau. The functions of the task force include project management, procurement, product development, pricing and quality management.

More details about the itineraries at https://lovemacau.org.

“Macao Ready Go!” platform records 1.76 mln visits since launch
 
The “Macao Ready Go!” online platform at https://www.macaoreadygo.gov.mo had recorded more than 1.76 million visits by end of July. The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) put up the website on 5 June. It aims to stimulate domestic consumer spending on Macao tourism services and related sectors.
 
The platform shows offers and promotions for shopping, dining out, entertainment and stays in hotels and resorts. It promotes sales and discounts available around the city as the tourism and hospitality industries in Macao get back to business.
 
By 30 July, 646 merchants were registered on the “Macao Ready Go!” platform and more are expected to register. The platform had made available a total of 1,201 types of promotional vouchers, downloaded about 88,859 times, for redemption at a range of businesses.
 
The “Macao Ready Go!” campaign is currently focused on offering deals for Macao locals, but with the further easing of COVID-19-related travel restrictions between Macao and Guangdong Province starting in the middle of July, the platform is being scaled up to include offers for visitors from Mainland China. The platform will then be promoted to visitors – as initially planned.
 
Meanwhile, MGTO is pushing ahead with a series of promotional videos and television shows, featuring different areas of Macao, and small- and medium-sized local creative and cultural businesses, while also showcasing Macao as a safe destination to visit during the pandemic. The Office is working with Macao-based media companies and key opinion leaders for the project, to produce close to 60 videos highlighting the city’s tourism resources and the COVID-19 prevention measures in place locally.