Tourism plan predicts growth, growing pains

The ‘Macao Tourism Industry Development Plan’, presented yesterday by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) seeks to increase tourist visitation, expand the waterfront area, increase the number of budget hotels, push non-gaming revenue to MOP14 billion in 2025 and attract more diversified visitors – including those from the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Expositions sector. The consultation paper will be available for public consultation from May 23 to June 22. “The first stage of this plan has been completed and we now have a general draft, which will be available for public consultation for two months. We hope to hear the opinions and use the feedback for the implementation of the future plan,” said MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes. The study was commissioned last year and conducted by AECOM Asia Company Limited, with Ms. Senna Fernandes stating the contract budget was “more than MOP18.3 million (US$2.28 million)”, and that the reason the contract was awarded to a private company was that the development plan aimed to take the tourism sector to a more international level; as such, MGTO decided to “organise an international tender and award the study to an international consultant company.” A crowded future The study estimates that total visitor arrivals could increase from 30.7 million visitors in 2015, to between 33 to 35 million yearly, with a 1 per cent to 2 per cent visitor growth per year in a low growth scenario; while in a modest visitor growth scenario it is estimated total visitors could reach between 38 to 40 million, with 3 to 5 per cent yearly growth. “For total visitation, we use different scenarios and data from the WTO [World Tourism Organisation], Asia Pacific Tourism Association, and other international organisations,” MGTO deputy director Chen Wai Tong stated, adding that the tourist office “can’t be sure the visitation will always grow, as in the past years we’ve witnessed very low or even negative growth, but when it comes to the five-year period we think that 1 to 2 per cent annual growth is realistic.” When questioned about the impact the increase of visitors would have on the city and what politics would be proposed to improve the infrastructure to accommodate the increase of tourists Ms. Senna Fernandes stated that the “estimates were made in the belief the facilities and other infrastructure would be increased,” providing more affordable accommodation for budget tourists, better exploration of the waterfront area of Macau and increasing “online bookings and online response” for existing economy hotels. In the study it is estimated that in a moderate visitor scenario the number of rooms could increase as much as 35.83 per cent to 51,500 rooms in 2025, while the percentage of overnight stays would increase 6.4 per cent. When asked what would be changed if during the public consultations residents expressed an aversion to an increase in visitors, Ms. Senna Fernandes only stated the “dream was to create a city that isn’t just pleasant for tourists but for residents,” but that at this time it is not possible to state exactly how the plan will be enforced. In terms of diversification of tourism visitors the MGTO director stated that since 90 per cent of tourism visitors came from Greater China, including Hong Kong, the percentage of international tourists should go from 9 per cent currently to “14 or 15 per cent in 2025.” Non-gaming revenue The plan also estimates non-gaming revenue could go as high as US$14 billion (MOP112 billion) in 2025, more than double the current US$6.4 billion (MOP51.2 billion). When questioned how that amount was estimated, Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong told Business Daily that the estimates were “based on the current condition forecasts of the non-gaming sector,” and were reached on a calculation of per capita spending by visitors with the estimated increase of visitors. The Deputy Director also told Business Daily that accommodation, shopping, food and beverage, entertainment and festivals were considered to be the possible biggest contributors for the increase of non-gaming revenue. Many goals but many challenges The plan includes as major goals ‘managing tourism growth in a sustainable way’, diversifying source markets by ‘attracting MICE business, conferences, events and other high value visitors’, while improving the visitor experience through better ‘service, quality and efficiency’. However, many challenges are raised in the study for the proposed goals such as a short average period stay for international visitors and lack of affordable stays, with “60 per cent of existing 33.047 rooms being from 5-star hotels,” the director of MGTO stated. The interconnectivity of the city was also found to be lacking in the study, with the quality of the current 200 Wi-fi Go hotspots considered needing improvement, while travel information should be provided preferably through ‘one integrated platform’ instead of the current websites and mobile apps. The low amount of quality resources and reliance upon non-resident workers is also considered worrying, with Macau needing to provide ‘quality services’ in areas such as ‘immigration, sightseeing, retail, hospitality, transportation, and dining’.