MGTO opens application for “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project
Macao, China, 2021-Apr-15 — /Travel PR News/ — The project titled “Stay, Dine and See Macao” is rolled out from April to December 2021. Starting from 10:00 tomorrow morning (15 April), interested residents can sign up at travel agencies under the umbrella of the project which not only covers a range of local tours but also introduces experience of local hotels. Every permanent and non-permanent resident of the Macao Special Administrative Region is entitled to a one-time subsidy for each of both categories – local tour and hotel staycation. The project is tailored to support travel industry professionals by creating job opportunities as a form of relief, while joining industry operators to invest resources in launching remarkable local tour itineraries, spurring new rises in domestic demand and spending in local communities.
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) held a press conference this morning (14 April) to unveil the details about the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Deputy Director Ricky Hoi, President of Association of Macau Tourist Agents, Cheung Kin Chung, President of Macau Travel Agency Association, Shiga Kunio, Chairman of Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu, and President of Travel Industry Council of Macau, Paul Wong, attended the press conference among around 150 industry delegates and journalists.
Six community tour itineraries at your choice
The “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project will run local tours between 25 April and 31 December. Tours will be available on weekends and public holidays from April — June, September — December while the frequency of tours will be augmented to daily operation as planned during July and August, the period of summer holidays. An array of local profound themed tour itineraries will be launched at the first stage. The helicopter ride experience which gained wide popularity last year will be available once again. New highlights such as “tourism + culture”, “tourism + sports” and “tourism + ecology” are incorporated into different tour itineraries. The six tour itineraries feature elements as follows: exploring architectures at Nossa Senhora Village of Ká Hó, science learning at Cotai Ecological Zone, Macao VR/Celebrity Wax Museum, Macao Grand Prix Museum and Handover Gifts Museum of Macao, youth music and cultural appreciation experience, helicopter ride experience and yacht check-in tour. Every Macao resident is entitled to a maximum of 280-patacas subsidy for local tour participation, as well as a 100-patacas dining card (except helicopter ride experience and yacht check-in tour). After subsidized, the tour fee will range between 28 – 518 patacas for the six tour itineraries, covering sightseeing, tour guide and insurance fees. The local tours will be conducted in Cantonese, Portuguese and English for different residents’ needs.
Debut of local hotel experience
Since the start of the pandemic, “staycation” has emerged as a prevailing new trend. For Macao residents to enjoy the joy of short vacations while it is not possible yet to travel abroad, the project “Stay, Dine and See Macao” newly incorporates experience of local hotels from Monday to Sunday as well as on public holidays during the period between 23 April and 31 December. Many hotels have joined this project to provide a variety of staycation experiences for patrons. Some hotels also offer staycation packages that include other tourism products, while others feature partnership with products of community businesses. Every Macao resident is granted one 200-patacas subsidy for hotel staycation. The cost of each hotel room can be subsidized for a maximal quota of two residents, i.e. 400 patacas.
Simple sign-up method
Just as the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” project last year, interested residents can opt for their favorite local tour itineraries or local hotels under the umbrella of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project at the sales outlets of accredited travel agencies with their valid Macao SAR resident identity cards, confirm their preferred tour date/time or hotel check-in date and complete the sign-up formalities by payment. Starting from 10:00 next morning (15 April), residents can sign up via accredited travel agencies for local tours and hotel staycation scheduled between April and June at this stage.
Fervent participation of travel trade
By far, 161 travel agencies, over 800 travel industry professionals, over 70 hotels and guest houses, over 500 tour coaches (including barrier-free tour coaches), over 500 tour coach drivers and over 500 local tour guides have registered for the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project, outweighing the number of industry participants for the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” project last year.
The Macao SAR Government announced the “2021 Scheme for Employment Security, Economic Stabilization and Care for Residents’ Livelihood” in mid-March. As part of the plan, the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project is officially launched. MGTO expressed that the project aims to support local travel agencies, the hotel and catering industries, to sustain the livelihood of personnel of travel agencies, tour guides, coach drivers and employees of related sectors while providing an initiative for residents to enjoy local dining, sightseeing and hotel staycation economically. The project is set to spur rises in domestic demand and spending in communities, leading to further recovery of the tourism and related industries.
The project “Stay, Dine and See Macao” is coordinated by MGTO and sponsored by the Macao Foundation. Carrying on the format of the “Macao Ready Go! Local Tours” project, the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project is undertaken by a Task Force formed by Macau Travel Agency Association, Association of Macao Tourist Agents and Travel Industry Council of Macau. The Task Force arranges for qualified travel agencies in Macao to join this project, besides taking charge of overall planning of tour itineraries, overall procurement, overall pricing as well as overall supervision and approval for hotel products before launch. All the details of tour itineraries must be approved by MGTO before the tours are ready for sale to the public. MGTO is in charge of promoting and supervising the entire project, as well as arranging for on-site inspections conducted by inspectors and assessment of project effectiveness, among other tasks, to ensure appropriate use of public funds and prevent infringement of regulations. Related data collected for the project will serve as reference for evaluation of the project’s effectiveness.
For details about joining the project for local tours and hotel experience as well as information about various travel agencies concerned, please visit the designated website: https://www.macaotourism.gov.mo/en/article/subsidies/macao-tour-hotel
Non-residents can enjoy the local tours at the original price while the price of hotel accommodation packages will be determined by hotels. To cater for people with special needs, community organizations, schools and other entities can contact the Task Force directly for coordination of tour registration. For further enquiry about sign-up, please contact the accredited travel agencies under the project. For other enquiries, please reach Tel: 8396 3052 between 9:00 – 19:00.
With the launch of the “Stay, Dine and See Macao” project, MGTO will pay close attention to the latest situation of the COVID-19 pandemic while making prompt and appropriate arrangements for all the activities in accord with the guidelines issued by Health Bureau. In case of adverse weather conditions, residents who have signed up for the project are advised to stay tuned to the latest activity arrangements.
Contact:
e-mail: mgto@macaotourism.gov.mo
Tel: (853) 2831 5566
Fax: (853) 2851 0104
Tourism Hotline: (853) 2833 3000
Source: MACAO GOVERNMENT TOURISM OFFICE
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