Total number of document(s): 5 Macau Post Daily | Highlight of the Day 4 | Circulation / Reach: 5,800 | 2019-04-08 Newspaper | P01,P02 | POST | Headlines Word Count: 848words | Image Size: 713.2cm-sq(28.2cm x 18.9cm,10.6cm x 17cm) | Ad-Value: HKD3,186 Keyword Matched: mgto,macau's tourism,secretary for social affairs and culture Macau able to receive more tourists: MGTO deputy Staff Reporter Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng said yesterday that with improved infrastructure and tourism facilities, Macau would be able to further raise its tourism carrying capacity. Hoi made the upbeat forecast while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s Macau Forum, the weekly debate programme hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM at its Macau Forum studio in Zape every Sunday. Yesterday’s focus of the forum was on whether Macau should implement a tourist tax – an “entry fee” to be paid by visitor arrivals. In a plenary session of the Legislative Assembly (AL) last month, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng noted that the findings of a study on Macau’s tourism carrying capacity for 2017 conducted by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) showed that the city can receive up to 110,000 tourists per day – or 40 million per year. The findings also showed that there were 21 days in 2017 in which the number of visitor arrivals per day exceeded 110,000, Tam noted. Tourism carrying capacity “Tourism Carrying Capacity” is defined by the Madrid-based United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as “the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction to the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction,” according to Wikipedia. During last month’s plenary session, Tam said it was very important to implement strategies to ensure that the number of visitor arrivals per day is more evenly distributed across the whole year. Infrastructure The policy secretary said that with more infrastructure projects to be completed in the future – such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT) as well as projects in the city’s new land reclamation zones – and with the provision of more diversified tourism products, Macau should be able to have a higher tourism carrying capacity. According to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), Macau recorded 35.8 million visitor arrivals last year, a new record, a 9.8 percent increase from 2017 when the city recorded 32.6 million visitor arrivals. The Public Security Police (PSP) said in a statement yesterday that the number of entries and exits at the Barrier Gate border checkpoint hit a record high of 467,000 on Saturday. The statement also said that the police recorded 1.24 million entries and exits at all the checkpoints of the city on Friday and Saturday. The figures announced by the Public Security Police, who run the city’s immigration service, comprise local residents, visitors, non-resident workers and non-local students enrolled in Macau. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Hoi said that the findings of the study by the Institute for Tourism Studies – 110,000 tourists per day – were based on various conditions in Macau in 2017. He noted that Macau’s infrastructure has improved since that year, such as the opening of the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) in October last year, which now is handling visitors who otherwise would have used the Source: Wisers electronic service. This content, the trademarks and logos belong to Wisers, the relevant organizations or copyright owners. All rights reserved. Any content provided by user is the responsibility of the user and Wisers is not responsible for such content, copyright clearance or any damage/loss suffered as a result. Print out of Wisers electronic service. Macau Post Daily | Highlight of the Day 4 | Circulation / Reach: 5,800 | 2019-04-08 Newspaper | P01,P02 | POST | Headlines Keyword Matched: mgto,macau's tourism,secretary for social affairs and culture Barrier Gate checkpoint. Hoi said that therefore the general public should not simply compare the current number of visitor arrivals per day with the figure of 110,000 tourists per day mentioned in the IFT study. Hoi also said that the tourism carrying capacity in a particular city should not only be evaluated by basing it on that city’s population and its number of visitor arrivals, but should also be based on the capacities of its border checkpoints, the conditions of its sightseeing spots and its public transport. When asked whether Macau could cope with even more tourists, Hoi said the exact estimate of a city’s tourism carrying capacity was a rather complicated issue. He said that destinations facing “overtourism” all have their very own characteristics resulting in the issue, adding that the UNWTO published a report last month which proposes certain measures for different regions in the world to increase their tourism carrying capacities. Overtourism When asked whether Macau was facing “overtourism”, i.e. too many tourists, Hoi said that currently large increases in visitor arrivals primarily occur during festive seasons and the mainland’s Golden Week holiday periods, adding that most tourists choose to visit the city’s most popular sightseeing spots such as the St Paul’s Ruins and Largo do Senado. He said that the limited tourism carrying capacities of Macau’s most popular sightseeing spots were resulting in the phenomenon of overcrowding. However, he noted that the number of tourists visiting other – less popular – sightseeing spots was still within a “controllable” range. Hoi also said that the revamped Grand Prix Museum in Zape and a museum commemorating national composer Xian Xinghai near Avenida do Coronel Mesquita were slated to come into service this year, adding that these two new tourism spots could help divert some tourists from the city’s most popular sightseeing spots. Source: Wisers electronic service. This content, the trademarks and logos belong to Wisers, the relevant organizations or copyright owners. All rights reserved. Any content provided by user is the responsibility of the user and Wisers is not responsible for such content, copyright clearance or any damage/loss suffered as a result. Print out of Wisers electronic service. Macao Daily News | Highlight of the Day 4 | Circulation / Reach: 100,000 | 2019-04-08 Newspaper | A02 | 澳聞 | 頭條 Word Count: 835words | Image Size: 1,254.5cm-sq(37.9cm x 33.1cm) | Ad-Value: HKD59,049 Keyword Matched: 旅客,旅遊局,旅遊,旅遊業議會,本澳,澳門,澳門旅客,旅遊業,澳門旅遊 支持者稱改善交通 反對者指無助減客 徵旅客稅兩極有排拗 【本報消息】澳門論壇昨探討澳門應否徵收旅客稅，發言嘉賓及居民對徵稅意見不一。支持者認為可用稅收改善本澳交通及旅遊設 施等；反對意見認為收稅無助減少旅客量，只是增加政府收入。旅遊局則稱持開放態度，要待研究結果出爐後，才有是否徵收旅客 稅的立場。 不同收費助分流 論壇昨日上午十一時在綜藝二館舉行。有發言居民表示，澳門旅客過多，對交通造成沉重壓力，輪候的士及巴士經常排長龍，建 議徵稅後作為本地居民的交通津貼。建議每名旅客稅收取十元或二十元，且不同口岸有不同收費，有助分流作用。有意見建議在澳 逗留滿三日或以上可免稅，有助促使旅客延長留澳時間。亦有反對意見認為，徵收旅客稅無助減少旅客量，只是增加政府收入。建 議政府與知名旅遊網站合作推廣，讓更多旅客知悉智慧旅遊系統。 旅局稱中立待研 旅遊局副局長許耀明回顧研究收稅起因，指今年春節黃金周錄得逾一百二十一萬旅客量，較去年同期增加兩成；加上日本開始徵 收國際觀光旅遊稅，本澳有意見倡議研究旅客稅，“使旅客量增幅冇咁大”，故局方開始着手研究。目前，旅遊局對徵收旅客稅持 開放態度、抱中立立場，要待完成研究後才有是否徵收旅遊稅的立場。 對於有意見認為徵收旅客稅後，會令旅客對澳門反感，影響澳門旅遊形象。許耀明表示，好多國家或地區都有徵收旅客稅，認為 澳門未來若要收稅，不會對旅遊形象造成太大影響。但要思考徵費方式，以減少對旅客的不便。 單一產業宜謹慎 他指，政府現時亦有對酒店、酒吧、舞廳等行業徵收旅遊稅，不分本地或外地居民，凡到上述場所消費均收取百分之五的旅遊稅 。去年旅遊稅收約九點八八億元。 經濟發展委員會委員李卓君不贊成徵收旅客稅，認為政府不應因旅客增加就收稅，“斬腳趾避沙蟲”，應該前瞻性規劃，創造更 多旅遊空間，同時設法加強旅客分流。旅遊業議會理事長黃輝認為徵稅要謹慎，因為澳門產業較單一，多個行業收入直接或間接來 自旅客，擔憂徵稅會令旅客對澳門反感。旅遊學院旅遊業研究暨科研中心成員盧振邦則持開放態度，認為調查的內容應包括稅收金 額、收稅對象及收稅方式等。 Source: Wisers electronic service. This content, the trademarks and logos belong to Wisers, the relevant organizations or copyright owners. All rights reserved. Any content provided by user is the responsibility of the user and Wisers is not responsible for such content, copyright clearance or any damage/loss suffered as a result. Print out of Wisers electronic service. Macao Daily News | Highlight of the Day 4 | Circulation / Reach: 100,000 | 2019-04-08 Newspaper | A02 | 澳聞 Word Count: 838words | Image Size: 302.8cm-sq(10.7cm x 28.3cm) | Ad-Value: HKD14,253 Keyword Matched: 旅遊局,旅客,旅遊,遊客,本澳,澳門,澳門旅客 大數據分流旅客 今年新增兩景點 旅局不認同承載力爆錶 【本報消息】澳門旅客數量屢創新高，旅遊區承載力“爆錶”問題凸顯。旅遊局承認，黃金周期間部分熱門景點出現“過度旅遊 ”情況，但不認同澳門整體承載力“爆錶”，指承載力會隨着口岸、交通、新景點等方面完善會有所提升。預計澳門今年將新增兩 個旅遊景點。 清明疊假客增兩成 旅遊局副局長許耀明昨受訪時表示，清明節假期（四月五日及六日），訪澳人數較去年同期增長約兩成，其中從香港來澳旅客錄 得逾四成升幅。經初步分析，主要是因港珠澳大橋落成後交通便捷，而且今年清明節連同周末日共有三天假期，因此吸引更多旅客 來澳。 舊研究資料待更新 旅遊學院進行的“澳門旅遊接待能力”調查研究，是本澳承載力的重要參考。最新研究結果顯示，二○一七年本澳的最佳旅遊接 待能力日均十一萬人次，但前日單是關閘的出入境人次已逾四十六萬人次。旅遊局引述旅遊學院研究員解釋，旅院報告的承載力數 據是因應一七年旅遊基建等多個因素推算得出，當年的日均最佳接待能力人次，故屬“過去式資料”、“不具預測性”，認為不能 與今日的旅客量作直接對比。局方將與旅遊學院協調，期望能得出較近期的旅遊承載力。 被問及澳門承載力是否“爆錶”、局方是否“心中無底”？許耀明否認“心中無底”，重申旅遊承載力是由景點、口岸、交通運 輸能力等承載力而綜合得出。旅遊、交通、出入境部門對各自負責範疇的承載力均有一定的預估。 首認熱點過度旅遊 他表示，當局曾預期今年旅客會有百分之六至八的增幅。但據統計，現階段實際旅客量已較預估值高，未來會再因應旅遊環境及 旅客出遊情況，重新估算旅客增長量。 被問及澳門是否出現“過度旅遊”？許耀明說，本澳並非完全沒有“過度旅遊”情況，承認在黃金周期間的熱門景點，如議事亭 前地、大三巴，出現過多擁擠情況，故警方需適時實施分流措施，但相信本澳仍有不少景點有寬裕的資源可接待遊客。旅局會參考 世旅組織建議，利用大數據加強旅客管理，在不同時間舉辦不同活動，積極把熱門景點旅客分流至冷門景點。預計今年落成投入使 用的冼星海紀念館、大賽車博物館等，可起到一定的分流作用。 Source: Wisers electronic service. This content, the trademarks and logos belong to Wisers, the relevant organizations or copyright owners. All rights reserved. Any content provided by user is the responsibility of the user and Wisers is not responsible for such content, copyright clearance or any damage/loss suffered as a result. Print out of Wisers electronic service. Macao Daily News | Highlight of the Day 4 | Circulation / Reach: 100,000 | 2019-04-08 Newspaper | A02 | 澳聞 | 頭條 Word Count: 1,004words | Image Size: 324.3cm-sq(26.8cm x 12.1cm) | Ad-Value: HKD15,264 Keyword Matched: