Home > Malaysia
Do It Now – Experience Macao
Place to be: Senado Square is Macao’s most popular venue for public events and celebrations. — Macao Government Tourism Office
April 12th, 2017 | 09:45 AM | 3842 views
PETALING JAYA
Find out why you need to visit this special administrative region and what it has to offer at its travel fair in Kuala Lumpur.
Compact and easy to explore, Macao offers plenty of attractions and events – and Malaysians are certainly up for that. Over 222,809 visitors from our country visited the city last year, making Malaysians one of the top 10 visitor segments to the special administrative region.
Based on the World Tourism Organization International Ranking in 2015, in terms of tourist arrivals, Macao is sixth in Asia Pacific and 22nd in the world, while in international tourism receipts, Macao ranks fourth in Asia Pacific and 10th in the world.
For those eager to experience the city, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is in town to showcase the city’s attractions and various local events at the Centre Court, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The Experience Macao Malaysia Mega Tourism Promotion Event is on now till April 16, from 10am to 10pm daily.
MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (pic) gives The Star an insight into Macao’s progress and prospect as a leading travel destination.
Why should people visit Macao?
Macau has evolved a lot in the last 10 to 15 years. We are moving towards promoting new destinations while keeping the best we have in places like the old town. To compete as a destination, we need to be able to come up with creative new offerings for the visitors. Macau has a lot to offer despite its small size. It’s about having a balanced mix between culture and history and introducing new things. Of course, we also have the mix of East and West cultures.
The number one choice is seeing heritage areas such as the ruins of St Paul and the Unesco Heritage Area. The second area that’s been gaining attention in the past 10 years is the Cotai area. In Cotai, every hotel has some sort of attraction. We have several hotels opening this year. The MGM Hotel is opening in the second half of the year. Visitors can also look out for the Palazzo Versace Macau and the Karl Lagerfeld Hotel.
What has been the response of Malaysians towards Macao as a holiday destination over the years?
The numbers of Malaysian visitors are good and they tend to stay overnight too. But we need to push harder. For Malaysia, we also did a survey. The majority of Malaysians said they would recommend Macao to their friends and relatives. They also said that there is a high tendency to revisit. That’s a very good sign. It’s very important for us to continuously tap into that potential.
In your opinion, what are some of the must-do travel experiences for visitors to Macao?
For first-time visitors, it’s the old part of the town. Stay in one of the many interesting hotels in the area. One thing you can’t miss is the food. We have submitted our candidacy for Unesco’s Creative Cities Network as a “city of gastronomy”.
Hopefully, by the end of October, we will be one of the successful cities. That’s one of the major initiatives by us this year. Food is something that makes people remember a place.
We added the International Film Festival & Awards last year, which will be having its second edition this year. Other festivals to look out for are the Macao Arts Festival, Macau International Dragon Boat Races, Macao International Fireworks Display Contest, Macau Grand Prix and Macao Light Festival.
What options are there for visitors to Macao when it comes to dining? What about for Muslim travellers?
We have launched a Quality Tourism Services Accreditation Scheme for our F&B outlets, which they need to apply for. It is a quality assurance in terms of where visitors can go to eat. The names of the restaurants are all available online and printed in brochures that we give out. We have also enlisted tourism police personnel who can give directions and information to visitors.
For Muslim travellers, there are seven Muslim-friendly restaurants. We only have one mosque at the moment. We are getting more aware about Islamic practices so that we are able to cater better to our visitors.
What travel tips do you have for travellers from Malaysia?
What I always tell people is, to relax. Macao is not about running around. It’s a small enough place. You don’t need to rush around. Eat some of the good things and just sit around and enjoy the place.
Based on your observation, how has tourism in Macao evolved over the years?
For the past few years, we have been hitting at least three million international visitors, not including those from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The entire tourism scene is much more vibrant now. With the income from tourism, we can improve on the people of Macao’s social welfare. It also allows us to host a lot more cultural activities. The objective of developing tourism is to allow the population to enjoy a better life and be happy.
There seems to be a focus on arts and culture. Why did you decide to go in that direction when promoting Macao as a destination? How has the response been, so far?
I think culture is a very important element of Macao. What gets them (visitors) to remember the place is always the culture. We don’t want people to look at culture in terms of just the food. It revolves around the festivities, too. It also allows visitors to get a bit of tangible exposure and be part of the city’s heritage.
What can visitors expect at the Macao travel fair here in KL?
This time, we have a lot more interactive games. We let people get a different feel of the events in Macao.
You could be running on a treadmill next to an LED screen that emulates the Macao International Marathon. We are also getting people to try to make some Macanese food. There’s also a video of jumping off the Macau tower – put on your virtual glasses and experience it yourself.
This time we are bringing in our travel counterparts from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian. We are selling packages that combine with the three provinces. At the end of the day, we want people to experience what Macao has to offer. We want to give them a taste of the many interesting activities in Macao, at the fair.
Source:
courtesy of THE STAR
by CHESTER CHIN
If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]