Shaanxi Province mulls direct flights to Macau

Shaanxi Provincial Tourism Bureau said it is necessary to commence flights between the capital of the Chinese Province Xian and Macau again, according to local broadcaster TDM Radio.
The director of the Department of Tourism Affairs of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan of the Bureau, Dong Hanqing, indicated that Xian had received more than 200,000 tourists from Macau and Hong Kong last year, whilst some 40,000 residents of the Chinese city also visited the two Special Administrative Regions in the same period.
The Chinese official indicated that there were direct flights between Macau and Xian before the handover of Macau in 1999, urging that the aviation services should be launched again to strengthen the exchange of the two cities in terms of trade, culture and tourism.
Nevertheless, the broadcaster quoted a Xian travel agent as saying that he does not find Macau appealing. In addition, the agent said travel agencies in Xian usually only organise tours to Macau and Hong Kong as a package rather than tours to solely Macau.
The agent perceives that agencies there may not know much about the historical heritage of Macau but conceded that they may try to organise Macau tours once they know more related information.
K.L.