From February to April, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is launching six “Building a Positive Service Mindset” online learning videos on Macao Tourism Industry Net. These videos, together with the after-lesson practice, are aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of tourism industry professionals and overall service quality in the industry.

With over 20 years of training experience, local trainer Hui Kwok Kit brings out key ideas around relevant topics through presentation of scenarios, such as boosting productivity, impressive service capacity and building up an optimistic mindset.

The target audience are tourism industry professionals including tour guides, personnel of hotels, catering industry, retailers and travel agencies, as well as accredited merchants of the Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme. The videos are in Cantonese with subtitles in Traditional Chinese, Portuguese and English. Sign language interpretation is also provided in the videos.

Tourism industry professionals and interested parties are welcome to watch the videos for free via the link “Trade Training - Online Course” on Macao Tourism Industry Net  (https://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo).

The 2022 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum & Exhibition (2022MIECF) will be held from 31^st March to 2^nd April at The Venetian Macao. The event is hosted by the Macao SAR Government, co-organised by the provincial and regional governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region, co-ordinated by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), and with the support of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China.

Under the “Commitment to Green Development, Moving Towards the Dual Carbon Goals” theme, the event will focus on topics such as carbon neutrality, green mobility, and technological innovation, in light of China’s 14^th Five-Year Plan and the goals of “carbon emissions peak” and “carbon neutrality”. With the integration of online and offline elements, the 2022MIECF aims to promote international exchanges and co-operation on environmental protection among different sectors, including governments, industries, universities, research institutes, users and financial sectors.

The 2022MIECF sets up two main parts: the Green Forum and the Green Showcase. The Green Forum will bring together distinguished speakers, representatives from renowned enterprises and policy makers to share their insights and will feature the elements of “carbon neutrality”. The Green Showcase will continue to have a Green Mobility Zone with alternative fuel vehicles and associated equipment on display, and a Greenovation Zone with innovative green technologies and technologies in fields like waste reduction and plastic waste reduction on show.

The 2022MIECF also boasts a diverse array of online elements including online exhibitions, online business matching and live conference streaming. The online business service will be provided from 20^th March to 2^nd April.

Accredited by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) in 2011, MIECF has been committed to promoting green development For more information about the 2022MIECF, please visit: www.macaomiecf.com/miecf2022.

The world’s first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and Maison L’OCCITANE hotels have settled at the Lisboeta Macau. They are now both open for bookings and aim to provide guests with a diverse accommodation experience.

The LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO was designed by global creative studio LINE FRIENDS. Macao’s first MEGA BROWN and FLYING SALLY characters are placed in the lobby of the hotel, and Portuguese architectural elements have been integrated into the LINE FRIENDS style for the first time with splashes of Macao’s local culture added into the mix. There are 82 rooms and suites at the hotel, including distinctively themed guestrooms with names like BROWN’s ROOM, CONY’s ROOM and LINE FRIENDS’ ROOM. In the LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO, photographs can be taken with the LINE FRIENDS buddies all over the hotel, creating memorable moments for visitors.

Maison L’OCCITANE is a themed hotel that has been launched together by natural care brand L’OCCITANE and the Lisboeta Macau. Maison L’OCCITANE has 164 guestrooms and suites with four themes in the hotel - namely Immortelle, Verbena, Cherry Blossom, and Shea Butter - that are based on L’OCCITANE’s four most iconic natural ingredients.

There is also an imitation tree installation that has installed in the centre of the lobby that takes the four natural ingredients as its design inspiration. With some added marble and a light beige colour in its decorative style, the installation illustrates the elegance of Southern France and brings brand new experience to lovers of L’OCCITANE.

For more details, please visit the official website of the Lisboeta Macau at: www.lisboetamacau.com.

The 2022 Sands China Macao International 10K, jointly organised by the Sports Bureau and the General Association of Athletics of Macau, will be held on 20^th March. There will be two race categories - namely the 10K and the Fun Run (which is approximately 5km) - and there are 6,000 and 4,000 places respectively.

The Fun Run race will start at 7:00am and the 10K race begins at 7:30am from Sai Van Lake Square, pass by the Sai Van Bridge and finish inside the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. The 10K course runs along Avenida Dr Sun Yat-Sen and the Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre.

There will be ranking awards for both races. For the 10K race, there will be Prize Money for General Classification, Record-breaking Bonus, Prize Money for Macao Winners, and Bonus for Breaking Macao Records to encourage participants to achieve the specified results. Winners in all categories will be awarded a trophy and a “Champion Jacket”.

In compliance with anti-pandemic measures, all participants are required to have completed two doses of COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days prior to the race. Participants are also required to make their own arrangement for COVID-19 test and present proof of a valid negative COVID-19 test result (inclusive of race day) before being permitted to take part in either race.

For more details, please visit the official website www.macao10k.com, or follow the Macao Major Sporting Events Facebook page.

In the Lunar New Year, Macao held a series of festive activities including the Golden Dragon Parade, the Parade for Celebration of the Year of the Tiger, and the fireworks shows for residents and visitors. Plus, the pandemic situation in the neighbouring areas eased up before the Spring Festival holidays. The related pandemic control and the prevention measures were relaxed at the ports of entry between Zhuhai and Macao, leading to an increase of visitor arrivals during the Spring Festival Golden Week.

Between 31^st January and 6^th February, which is the seven-day Spring Festival Golden Week, the preliminary statistics show that the visitor arrivals hit 113,699, which increased by 25.4% compared with the number in the Spring Festival Golden Week in 2021. On the third day of Lunar New Year (3^rd February), visitor arrivals reached nearly 22,000, setting the highest daily record in this year’s Spring Festival Golden Week.

In terms of hotel accommodation, according to industry data, the average occupancy rate of local hotel establishments (hotels, apartment hotels and budget accommodation establishments) during the Spring Festival Golden week was 63.8%, a year-on-year increase of 15.2 percentage points. The figure also showed 5-Star hotels have the highest average occupancy rate (70.3%) and growth rate (19.3 percentage points). In addition, the average room rate of hotel establishments (hotels and economical accommodation establishments) was about MOP1,096.0, a year-on-year decline of 11.8%. The room rate of 3-Star hotels were around MOP580, with the largest decrease of 19.5%. The only room rate that recorded an increase (0.2%) was the apartment hotel, which was around MOP4,474.9.

During the Spring Festival Golden Week, MGTO has leveraged different channels to inform visitors various information about pandemic prevention. In addition, visitors and residents were provided with free stationed guiding service at Rua dos Ervanários, St. Augustine’s Square, Taipa Houses, and the Village of Ká Hó. MGTO conducted a total of 77 inspections, targeting at major ports of entry, tourist spots and hotel establishments. No sign of irregularities was discovered during inspections.

Highlights of Macao 2022 Chinese New Year Festivities