Northstar

18 | www.travelweekly-asia.com VIEW FROM THE TOP With 10 million visitors in the first quarter of 2019, and 40 million expected by the year's end, Macau's tourism industry is booming. Located across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong, Macau has long been hampered by poor infrastructure, from a cramped airport unable to handle bigger planes, to inadequate border facilities, stifling its attempts to woo more visitors. But the picture is improving. The new Taipa ferry terminal opened in 2017, offering greater capacity than the existing Outer Harbour terminal, while the 55km-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge was finally opened last October. Work to expand capacity at the city's airport is also slated for completion in 2020. In an interview with Travel Weekly Asia, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO), said current visitor numbers "are beyond all projections that we did". She said the 2017 Tourism master plan forecasts three growth scenarios – low (1-3% increase), medium (3-5% increase) and high (slightly beyond 5%). But since the bridge opened, Macau has seen visitor numbers increase by 15- 20%. "Last year was 35.8 million [visitors] so this year if it continues, we're looking at the possibility of 40 million. For those who are in business here, obviously they're happy," Senna Fernandes said. However, she warned increasing numbers of visitors to the city needed to be managed. "Local residents – especially those living within the tourist areas – complain about too many people. During the recent May 1 holiday... it was very congested everywhere… If we could have better traffic infrastructure then that would help us in terms of shifting tourists between different attractions. The biggest bottleneck right now would be transportation within Macau". Wynn Macau – work very closely with MGTO to create a diverse and sustainable future for Macau. "They participate in many of our cultural events, such as the Chinese New Year parade. And all six of the big gaming operators will be involved in Art Macau, our new event with the cultural bureau we're launching this year. "We've also been working with them on industry job training. But we also support them – for example with MGM's Oktoberfest. We were also partners with Wynn on Asia's 50 best restaurants awards for". While the higher-end integrated resorts flourish, with projects such as the Grand Lisboa Palace on the way, Senna Fernandes stressed the need for Macau to anticipate new trends. A new hotel law is winging its way through the city's legislative assembly to permit the introduction of capsule hotels and hostels. "We're allowing not only the high- end hotels to flourish but opening up more ways of licensing the lower end of the spectrum, so there can be different products to cater to different needs. We're seeing people like students coming to Macau who can't all stay in luxury hotels," she said. With more than 30,000 hotel rooms added in the last 20 years and a 91% occupancy rate, according to MGTO, the city is well placed to benefit from improving connections with the rest of the world. Macau's tourism chief says the massive growth in visitors is welcome but its infrastructure needs to keep up. By Paul Armstrong Better Transport Links Make Macau Worth The Bet "The numbers are good. Last year was 35.8 million [visitors] so this year if it continues, we're looking at the possibility of 40 million. For those who are in business here, obviously they're happy". Macau is on course to welcome 40 millions visitors in 2019 Bridge over (untroubled) waters The opening of the new bridge has made it easier for day-trippers to come from traditionally dominant markets – Hong Kong and Mainland China – with double-digit growth seen in the past few months, according to MGTO. And with bridge utilisation currently limited to 3% during its initial run-in phase, visitor numbers could eventually rise faster as authorities in Hong Kong and Guangdong province discuss increasing the rate. "It would give us even more access to Hong Kong International Airport, which would allow us to do more to promote ourselves in more international markets," said Senna Fernandes. She pointed to the fact that for the first time, a non-Chinese- speaking market – South Korea -- had broken into its top three source markets, thanks mainly to new air routes opening up between Macau and Seoul and Busan on low-cost carriers. "It's never happened before. Very encouraging for us from a marketing perspective. We're looking to do more in terms of international visitors. More in other Southeast Asian markets," she said. Why Macau? According to Senna Fernandes, many of the new visitors are families or groups of young people -- and while they're interested in heritage sites such as the Ruins of St. Paul's, they're also flocking to Cotai, where Macau's entertainment resorts are located. She said the operators of these resorts – MGM China, Melco, Sands China, SJM Holdings and PHOTO CREDIT: MGTO PHOTO CREDIT: ORPHEUS26/GETTY IMAGES - Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO)

• Cover