Section: Government

Macau Golden Week Visitors Up By 13.2%

Macau welcomed 390,683 visitors on the first four days (September 29 to October 2) of the China National Day golden week, a 13.2 per cent increase compared to the same period of last year. Among the total of visitors, 65 per cent, or 254,139 people, came from Mainland China, 6.3 per cent more than the same

Guangzhou Agency Denies Tightening Macau Visa Restrictions

The Guangzhou Post Express, the agency to handle visa applications of the Individual Visit Scheme to Hong Kong and Macau, denied the further tightening of visa issuance to mainland tourists. The English press in Hong Kong reported earlier that the Guangdong Province would from October 1 tighten visa issuance of the Individual Visit Scheme so that

China Clamps Down on Macau Visa Restrictions Even Further

China has clamped down on permits to visit Macau after seeing huge amounts of money flood into casinos in the resort, some of them American-owned, People in the wealthy southern province of Guangdong that neighbours the former Portuguese colony are now limited to only one trip every three months. The move is the

Expected Macau GDP Growth 10% This Year

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said today he expected Macao’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by about 10 per cent this year.During a reception, Mr Tam told the press that with the global economy slowing down and international financial market fluctuating even more wildly, he expected Macao’s economy

Mainland Chinese Visitors Increases by 10.6%

The latest Macau statistics indicates that visitor arrivals totalled 2,583,372 in August 2008, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Visitors from Mainland China (1,488,084) and Hong Kong (757,784) rose by 10.6% and 5.2% respectively, while those from Taiwan, China (112,454) decreased by 7.0%. Same-day visitors took up 52.6% of the total arrivals, at 1,357,855. The majority of

Aussies Love Macau Arrivals Almost Up 50% This Year

Macau is so hot on Australia’s leisure and business travel list that arrivals into the Asian centre from Down Under have risen by almost 50 per cent this year. The dramatic increase for the first eight months of 2008 follows last year’s significant increase that resulted in a record 120,000 making the journey across the Pacific

Macau Gaming Revenue is Stalling

Revenue from gaming so far this year is similar to that for the same period last year, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Tam Pak Yuen, disclosed today. He said despite a slowdown in growth, the Government was still confident revenue would be maintained at its present level. On the recent lay-offs by a gaming operator,

Golden Week Not Expected to Increase Number of Tourists to Macau

Three consecutive days of Mid-Autumn holidays did not bring any increase in the number of tourists to Macau, according to Wu Keng Kuong, president of board of directors of Travel Industry Council of Macau. Mr Wu said that the number of tourists had remained similar to that of the previous year, saying that the flow of

Macau Gaming Industry Entering Consolidation Phase

Secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam Pak Yuen said Macau’s gaming industry entering a period of consolidation, “precisely” at a time when the government is comprehensively assessing the development and size of the sector. “Through this consolidation, the governor hopes that Macau’s economy and society can develop in a healthier and more sustainable way,”

Macau Q1 2008 Gross Domestic Product Expands by 31.6%

In the first quarter of 2008, performance of the gaming sector continued to stay vibrant, with gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) soaring substantially by 61.8% in nominal terms compared with the same quarter of 2007, while total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose slightly by 4.3%; gross fixed capital formation dropped by 17.6% upon successive