Bangkok--26 Feb--eTurboNews
Macau has been in news for achieving strong visitor flow in 2006 and revenues generated from gambling. But rather than resting on its laurels, the former Portuguese colony on the coast near Hong Kong seems to be gearing up for all possible adverse situations.
Recently, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) conducted a crisis management seminar for its tourism industry, targeting leaders of tourism enterprises, tourism stakeholders, MGTO officials and related personnel.
Jointly organized by MGTO and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Macau Chapter, the seminar advised tourism stakeholders to be more sensitive to risks and crisis, while at the same time, strengthen their skills on crisis management, so as to reduce the damages caused by hazards.
MGTO's director Jo?o Manuel Costa Antunes said, "Macau's tourism industry is rapidly growing, it is necessary to safeguard the industry against risks and crisis, therefore the need to set up contingency plans."
The agenda included discussion on topics such as shock and threats to the tourism industry, responsibilities and leadership, and media and information management apart from suggestions on how to initiate discussions on risk and crisis management.
Recently, it was shared that owing to casino investment boom and the millions of Chinese who are flooding into the former Portuguese colony resulted in Macau's gambling revenue soaring 22 percent in 2006, to $6.95 billion.
Macau's gambling revenue started to surge in 2004, when Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Galaxy Casino SA ended the four-decade monopoly of billionaire Stanley Ho. Foreign investors are staking $20 billion on making the city, a former Portuguese colony, into the gambling capital of Asia. Seven new casinos opened in Macau last year, bringing the total to 24. The number of gaming tables doubled in the period to 2,762, according to the website of Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
Macau recorded 21.63 million visitor arrivals in 2006, a rise of 21.4 percent over 2005, according to official statistics. The figures released by the government-run Statistics and Census Service (SCS) showed that the majority of visitors came in the year from the Chinese mainland (54.5 percent), Hong Kong (31.6 percent) and Taiwan (6.5 percent).