Taiwan is the third-largest source market for visitors to Macau. Macao Tourism Board: New hotels to open this year

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Taipei

The unique charm of Macau has long attracted many travelers. The Macao Tourism Board held its annual spring reception today (12th). Macao Tourism Board Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes stated that future efforts will focus on five key areas: improving service quality, launching innovative tourism products, organizing a series of promotional events, actively collaborating with international organizations, and conducting specialized tourism research, with the aim of attracting more visitors to Macau.


▲ Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Tourism Board (second from left), and Leong Ngan Pui, Principal Public Relations Advisor of Macao Tourism Board (first from left).

According to data from the Macao Statistics and Census Service, in 2014, overnight visitors from Taiwan accounted for 43% of all Taiwanese arrivals in Macau, an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to 2013. The number of Taiwanese visitors staying overnight in Macau was 409,741, with 358,800 staying in hotels. Over 70% of these guests chose star-rated hotels, with an average length of stay ranging from 1.7 to 1.9 nights.

Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes noted that Taiwan has consistently been the third-largest source market for Macau. Last year, the proportion of Taiwanese overnight visitors among all Taiwanese arrivals in Macau saw a slight increase, as did the average hotel stay duration. “Macau has gradually shed its image as a transit hub in the minds of Taiwanese travelers, transforming into a destination for leisure tourism.” This shift is partly due to the 2014 Open Skies agreement signed between Macau and Taiwan, which attracted more airlines. Looking ahead to 2015, new hotels are expected to open in Macau, which will likely attract even more visitors.

Under the promotional theme “Feel Macau – Touching Moments,” Leong Ngan Pui, Principal Public Relations Advisor of Macao Tourism Board, mentioned that four themed routes are being promoted to Taiwanese travelers, focusing on “Historic Footsteps,” “Green Culture and Creativity,” “Portuguese-Chinese Encounters,” and “Arts and Culture Exploration.” These four “Discover Macau by Foot” walking routes allow visitors to experience local culture during walks lasting between 90 to 150 minutes.