Experts divided on new tourism master plan

Hospitality and tourism experts are divided over the possibility of the city receiving an estimated 40 million visitors in 2025, as presented in the ‘Macao Tourism Industry Development Plan’ (Master Plan) by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO). The tourism plan estimates that total visitor arrivals in a modest visitor growth scenario could go as high as 40 million, with 5 per cent yearly growth, a scenario University of Macau Associate Professor in Hospitality and Gaming Management Ka Chio Fong told Business Daily was possible. However, data from the annual Macao Tourism Carrying Capacity Study conducted last year showed that the optimal number of visitors per year shouldn’t exceed 33.7 million. The report was based upon data from the previous year, 2014, and was conducted by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT). Professor Ka Chio Fong is still confident that the city will be ready for the estimated increase of visitors if all major projects by the government are concluded on schedule and competition from other Asian countries doesn’t increase. The professor considers nine years to be sufficient time for a large number of infrastructure projects to be completed in the territory – such as the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, and the light-rail system. On the other hand, José Wong Weng Chou, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), considers the estimated number to be too “optimistic, because when the study was being conducted the economy was still growing, while currently it is slowing down.” “I believe the problem is not if it will be 40 million but if we will maintain the current 30 million visitors, if the number will stay stable,” Professor Weng Chou told Business Daily. It’s competitiveness, stupid “In a couple of years there are a couple of new casino resorts opening and according to statistics released by the government a lot of hotels applied for construction. If those hotels are constructed on time I think we can achieve that number of rooms,” the UMAC professor told Business Daily. However the professor still thinks the necessity of affordable accommodation is debatable, since although there is a linkage between number of rooms and tourist numbers, regional competitiveness should also be taken into consideration. “We need to look around in Asia to position ourselves in a correct rate. If you look at Southeast Asia now, in the last 10 years only Macau developed integrated resorts rapidly but I’m not so sure how many integrated resorts will be built in Asia, including the Philippines, Hong Kong and South Korea. Macau is very small so we don’t need to downgrade ourselves to charge less, it depends on demand and supply. If a lot of locations around Asia are demanding lower rates there’s no need for us to match the competition,” the professor told Business Daily. Professor Weng Chou also agreed Macau’s market placement when compared to its regional competitors is essential for the territory’s tourism future. “It’s very good to have the Bridge to Hong Kong and Zhuhai but if visitors decide to go to other cities we cannot make them stay in Macau. We need to improve the competitiveness but I believe the most important thing is to improve our infrastructure, Wi-Fi, roads and nature sights,” Professor Weng Chou stated.

box