“Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme officially launched in April

The “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme was officially launched in April. Running until December, the programme allows Macao residents to enjoy a subsidy for local tours and introduces experiences at local hotels. Every permanent and non-permanent resident of Macao is entitled to a one-time subsidy for each of the two categories – local tours and a hotel staycation.

The project, launched by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), is tailored to support the city’s travel industry professionals by creating job opportunities. The project assists industry operators in launching remarkable local tour itineraries, in a bid to spur domestic demand and increase spending in the community, as part of the Macao SAR Government’s “2021 Scheme for Employment Security, Economic Stabilisation and Care for Residents’ Livelihood”, announced earlier this year.

“Stay, Dine and See Macao” offers local tours until 31 December. Tours are available on weekends and public holidays from April until June, and again from September to December. Daily tours will be offered in July and August, to coincide with the summer holiday period.

Six community-based tour itineraries

An array of tour itineraries will be launched in the first stage of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme. The helicopter ride experience – which was very popular during the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” scheme rolled out in 2020 – will be available once again. New highlights for 2021 incorporate the strategies of “tourism + culture”, “tourism + sports” and “tourism + ecology”.

The six tour itineraries feature the following elements: exploring the city’s architecture at Nossa Senhora Village of Ká Hó; a science learning activity at the Cotai Ecological Zone; Macao VR/Celebrity Wax Museum; Macao Grand Prix Museum and Handover Gifts Museum of Macao; youth music and cultural appreciation experience; helicopter ride experience and yacht check-in tour.

Every Macao resident is entitled to a maximum subsidy of MOP280 for every approved tour in which they participate, as well as a MOP100 dining card – except for the helicopter ride experience and the yacht check-in tour. 

With the subsidy, tour fees will range between MOP28 and MOP518 and cover sightseeing, tour guide and insurance. The tours will be conducted in Cantonese, Portuguese and English, according to residents’ needs.

Local hotel experience

The “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme introduces stays at local hotels from Monday to Sunday, as well as on public holidays during the period between 23 April and 31 December.

A number of the city’s hotels have joined the programme to provide a variety of staycation experiences for participants. Some hotels are offering staycation packages that include other tourism products, others feature partnership with products of community businesses.

Each Macao resident is eligible to a one-off MOP200 subsidy to stay in a local hotel. The cost of each hotel room can be subsidised to a maximum quota for two residents, meaning MOP400 in total.

Growing participation

Holders of the Macao SAR Permanent Resident Identity Card or the Macao SAR Non-Permanent Resident Identity Card can opt for a preferred tour or hotel at accredited travel agencies. Non-residents, including visitors, can enjoy local tours at the original price, while prices of hotel accommodation packages are to be determined by the hotels. 

So far, 160 travel agencies, nearly 70 hotels and guest houses,  more than 520 tour coaches (including barrier-free tour coaches), along with more than 800 travel industry professionals, plus over 440 tour guides and over 520 tour couch drivers, have registered for the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme, a significant increase compared to the number of industry participants in the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” programme last year.

“Stay, Dine and See Macao” is 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 task force is in charge of project management, as well as procurement, pricing and quality management, among other tasks.

For details about the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme, as well as information about various travel agencies concerned, please visit www.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/article/subsidies/macao-tour-hotel.

To cater to participants with special needs, community organisations, schools and other institutions are welcome to contact the task force to coordinate their tour applications. For enquiries and applications, interested parties should contact the travel agencies taking part in the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme. For other enquiries, please contact 8396 3052, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

MGTO will pay close attention to the latest situation of the COVID-19 pandemic while making prompt and appropriate arrangements for all “Stay, Dine and See Macao” activities in line with the guidelines issued by the Macao SAR Government Health Bureau. In case of adverse weather conditions, participants who have signed up for the programme are advised to pay attention to the latest activity-related arrangements.

Macao aims to attract more tourists, says Chief Executive   The Macao SAR Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, said the Government was sparing no effort in attracting a greater number of tourists from Mainland China to visit Macao. He added there would be further promotional events in Mainland cities in the southwest of the country, in order to support such endeavours.   The Chief Executive gave information on measures to boost the local tourism industry when he attended, on 13 April, a session at the city’s Legislative Assembly.   The Macao SAR Government organised a roadshow “Macao Week in Hangzhou” in late March, following the first in-person large-scale promotion after the pandemic, themed as “Beijing Macao Week” held in September at the country’s capital city. More “Macao Weeks” are planned for other cities in the Mainland until the National Day Golden Week in October, to promote Macao as a healthy, safe and quality destination for traveling. Such activities are being held with the aim of attracting Mainland visitors to travel to Macao and spending more time here, expanding visitor source markets and spurring economic revival.   The Macao SAR Government has also launched an incentive scheme for tourists from the mainland to enjoy promotional offers to fly to and stay in Macao, as well as shop while visiting the city. Consumption vouchers issued to tourists under the scheme, had generated a leverage ratio of 21.82 times, indicating tourist spending in Macao was growing, stated Ho Iat Seng.   The Macao SAR Government was considering extending such an approach to countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in Asia, provided the COVID-19 situation improved globally, and entry-restriction policies between jurisdictions were eased.

Government announces optimised plan to spur local consumption   The Macao SAR Government has drafted a new proposal to boost local consumption via electronic payment methods, in a bid to spur the local economy. The announcement was made by the Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong at a press conference held on 12 April.   The updates to the optimised plan for consumption seek to balance the need to relieve people’s financial burden and boost the local economy, while simplifying its implementation procedures. This was in order to provide Macao residents with greater convenience when accessing the consumption benefits scheme.   The plan was designed in accordance with the overall principle of “subsidies provided by Government, immediate discount upon product or service consumption, and benefits for all”. The new proposal also adopted as reference the electronic consumption card model that was launched by the Macao SAR Government in 2020.   Under the new proposal, Macao permanent resident ID holders and Macao non-permanent resident ID holders would each be entitled to a start-up fund of MOP5,000, and a discount grant of MOP3,000. Both the start-up fund and discount grant could be redeemed when purchasing goods or services.   Users could choose either to use one of the locally-registered mobile payment platforms or their electronic consumption card to enjoy the benefits.   Macao permanent resident ID holders and Macao non-permanent resident ID holders would need to sign up for the plan via the Macao Monetary Authority website between May and December 2021. The usage period for the consumption benefits would be from June to December 2021.   The plan states a maximum spend for each card, or each mobile payment platform account, of MOP300 per day. The MOP3,000 discount grant was designed to offer an immediate discount of 25% upon the purchase of eligible goods or services. The card can be used by residents to enrol in activities of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” programme.

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