The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is partnering with leisure tourism businesses in the city as well as e-commerce platforms and online travel agencies (OTAs) on the Mainland to create an array of caravan roadshows across the Guangdong Province cities of the Greater Bay Area. The roadshows, all under the theme of “Experience Macao, Unlimited”, encourage residents of the Greater Bay Area to visit Macao. The roadshows were conducted in Zhuhai between 28^th and 29^th August and in Zhongshan between 3^rd and 4^th September.

Colourful elements and activities adorn the roadshows

During each roadshow, an eye-catching caravan is transformed into a major stage for performances and interactive moments with the audience in order to highlight the colourful “tourism +” experiences that Macao continually offers. Around the caravan, there are interactive exhibition zones featuring themed backdrops for check-ins on social media, as well as a graffiti wall, an interactive exhibition gallery, a game booth, a parent-and-child workshop and a 3D mapping show, among other highlights. Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK warmly greets visitors to the roadshows and enlivens the atmosphere. The six major integrated tourism enterprises from Macao also run promotional booths at each roadshow, and the OTAs sell tourism packages and other special offers to Macao, Zhongshan and Hengqin of Zhuhai at each roadshow destination.

To create a buzz before each roadshow, a fleet of promotional tour buses are being sent out around each city in Guangdong province. Online media and outdoor advertisements are also being harnessed to spotlight the roadshows ahead of their visits. Key opinion leaders (KOLs) are also coming to the roadshows to share the event highlights through live streams, videos, photos and written posts in order to boost the stream of visitors.

MGTO will stay tuned to the pandemic situation and actively follow the guidelines issued by the Health Bureau to make timely arrangements for the promotional campaign.

The “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project has been extended to 31^st December. Registration is now open for the 12 local tour itineraries under the project that are taking place between September and December. These itineraries cover leisure, family, exciting experiences, culture and art themes.

A new themed itinerary for the 10^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE) is also included during the extended period. The itinerary is valid for the duration of the event between 23^rd and 25^th September. For a special price of MOP28, participants can visit MITE, the Taipa Houses, the Museum of Taipa and Rua do Cunha. Participants also receive a MOP100 dining card which can be used on their tour.

Macao Government Tourism Office hopes that the extension of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project will encourage and allow more Macao residents to enjoy local tours and staycations, as well as boost the development of the local tourism industry. In the future, different themed itineraries will be added to the local tours for an array of festivals and events to inspire city residents to participate in them.

A total of 131,212 people registered for the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project between the start of January to 31^st August this year, including 36,381 participating in the local tours and 94,831 participating in the hotel experience participants with 38,157 hotel packages sold.

The “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project strictly follows the preventive measures as always and arranges all activities in accordance with the relevant guidelines issued by the Health Bureau. For more details, please refer to www.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/article/subsidies/macao-tour-hotel.

The Macao Green Hotel Award 2022, which is organised by the Environmental Protection Bureau in collaboration with the Macao Government Tourism Office, is taking applications until 18^th September. Since its launch in 2007, the awards programme has been encouraging the hotel sector to adopt environmentally friendly measures to help Macao go greener.

Divided into two categories, “hotels” and “budget accommodation”, the awards are valid for three years. In the “hotel” group, five levels of environmental achievement will be awarded: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit. In the “budget accommodation” group, there are simply the “Green Guesthouse Award” and the “Basic Certificate” that can be awarded.

Hotels which have been awarded the 2020 and 2021 Macao Green Hotel Award can also apply for a superior level of award this year.

Until its 2021 edition, a total of 57 hotels became award recipients, corresponding to nearly half of the hotel establishments of the city.  

Awardee hotels help Macao lower carbon emissions

The awardee hotels have collectively recycled more than 60,000 tonnes of waste, which is equivalent to the weight of 15,000 small buses since the programme began. This includes more than 18,000 tonnes of waste paper recycled, which amounts to saving around 300,000 trees.

In addition, 70% of the awardee hotels have recycled their food waste, with the total accumulated volume exceeding 8,900 tonnes. That is the same weight as 2,225 small buses.

There has also been an increase in the number of electric vehicle charging facilities at awardee hotels, with equipment having already been installed at more than 100 electric vehicle charging places. That is a 70% increase over the past two years.

For more information about the Macao Green Hotel Award, please visit www.dspa.gov.mo/greenhotel.

Sands China Limited is this month bringing back its Sands Shopping Carnival for the third year. Launched to provide a free business platform for local SMEs and Sands retailers to revive the economy amid the pandemic, the event has been growing in popularity with new attractions added this year.

Taking place at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo Halls A and B between 10^th and 12^th September, this year’s edition of the large sale event will have more than 580 booths, with new Healthy Lifestyle and Sport Accessories areas for residents and tourists to explore, as well as an international cuisine food court area, children’s entertainment and other activities.

The Sands Shopping Carnival, which won the “Innovative Exhibition Award” in the Macao Convention and Exhibition Commendation Awards 2020 for its outstanding performance in exhibition and event organisation and in carrying out marketing strategies, has attracted more than 210,000 visitors over its previous two years. The 2022 Sands Shopping Carnival is organised by Sands China Limited and co-organised by the Macao Chamber of Commerce, with Macao Government Tourism Office among its supporting entities.

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has announced that 76 out of the 77 “phased plans” proposed in the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan for 2021 were implemented. A total of 63 of those “phased plans”, the name given to project projected to take between zero and five years, accomplished their “target goals”, meaning that there was an overall 82% implementation rate.

Seven action in focus undertaken in 2021 were highlighted in the master plan: the effects of “tourism +”, Macao’s tourism products and facilities, quality tourism and collaboration, precision marketing, urban construction, smart technologies, and regional and international cooperation.

Many projects were launched in the city last year including an official MGTO flagship store on multinational online travel platform, the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project, the “Macao Highlight Tours”, the “Macao Full of Fun - Smart Trip Planner”, the “Incubation Plan for Macao’s KOL in Tourism” and the “Short Videos about Macao” campaigns. Plus, Macao tourism and MICE presentation seminars, “Macao Week” and “Light Up Macao Drone Gala” were all successively organised.

In 2021, the Macao Grand Prix Museum reopened after a massive renovation, providing opportunities for the city’s cultural and creative professionals as they were able to create souvenirs for sale at the museum shop. Cultural, tourism and educational exchanges with the cities in the Greater Bay Area continued to be conducted as well. Virtual participation in international tourism organisation meetings in Macao also continued to maintain the city’s exposure and prestige in the area of international tourism. Last but not least, the city’s first monitoring report and work plan for the next four years were presented to the Secretariat of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

In accordance with the master plan, the Macao SAR government and the city’s tourism industry are committed to providing tourists with a variety of diverse experiences and promoting the development of regional tourism so as to expand domestic demand and drive community consumption. This is all part of Macao’s ongoing drive to stimulate the recovery of the city’s tourism economy.

Please visit https://masterplan.macaotourism.gov.mo/2021/index_en.html to review the full 2021 report of the Macao Tourism Industry Development Master Plan.

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has launched a tourism campaign called “Film the Lucky Tourists in Macao”. Tourists who are selected in the campaign will be offered a special courtesy trip to visit Macao where a professional production team will record their entire holiday experience. After they are edited, the video clips will be presented to the lucky tourists as gifts. The clips will also be shown on MGTO’s social media platforms with the consent of the tourists in a bid to promote the characteristics of the Macao tourism industry from the perspective of the tourists themselves and their first-hand experiences. The campaign will be conducted in three phases, with the first phase of recruitment lasting until 22^nd September.

Trial run of “Film the Lucky Tourists in Macao” launched by MGTO

Individuals who are interested in applying to take part in the campaign can scan the QR code or follow the official MGTO WeChat account to enter the mini programme of this campaign. They can also participate in the hashtag “#Film the Lucky Tourists in Macao” on Weibo by writing about a tourism experience they would like to enjoy in Macao or about a past experience they have had in the city, or even contributing some travel tips about exploring Macao.

The first phase of the campaign will be evaluated based on the number of votes each piece of content that is published on 22^nd September gets from the public or the number of interactions on each piece. The two participants who receive the most votes or interactions on both platforms will be selected for the campaign and then may undertake their courtesy holiday and video package in Macao before 31^st October, 2022. The two winners will be informed, and their itineraries will be coordinated by the MGTO team.

Relevant activities will be arranged with the prevention and control of the pandemic in Macao as the priority. MGTO will pay close attention to the development of the pandemic, coordinate with the relevant guidelines issued by the Health Bureau and adjust the tourism campaign accordingly.