Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is hosting spring banquets and travel marts in Taiwan on 3 and 4 March, to present its major goals this year and showcase Macao’s tourism products, festivals and events in 2016 while enhancing its exchange and partnership with travel trade and media in Taiwan. The mission aims to foster Taiwan market growth, attract various market segments and widen the diversity of visitor source markets for Macao.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes and Deputy Director Cecilia Tse are joining the spring banquets and travel marts held in Taipei and Kaohsiung today (3 March) and tomorrow (4 March) together with over 20 members of travel trade from Macao. Director of Taipei Office, Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, Man Hongwei, Head of Macau Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan, China, Nadia Leong Kit Chi, Chairman of Travel Agent Association of Taiwan, Louis Hsu, and Chairman of Taipei Association of Travel Agents, Wu Zhi Jian, were present in the spring dinner tonight among others. Heads of Kaohsiung Association of Travel Agents is also invited to the spring banquet in Kaohsiung tomorrow.
Great performance of Taiwan market in 2015
As Director Senna Fernandes remarked, Taiwan has long been the third largest visitor source market for Macao. Last year, Taiwanese visitor arrivals topped 980,000 in Macao, a rise of 3.6% over 2014, with a remarkable surge of 10% in overnight visitors to a record of 450,000 and more. The volume of overnight visitors from Taiwan in January 2016 even spiked up by 30%. The significant rises have proved Macao one of the major leisure destinations for Taiwanese residents to visit.
According to figures provided by the Statistics and Census Service, 45.6% of Taiwanese visitors, equivalent to over 450,000 visitor-times, stayed overnight in Macao in 2015. Close to 380,000 overnight visitors stayed in hotels, accounting for 84% of all overnight visitors from Taiwan last year. 66.8% of hotel overnight guests from Taiwan stayed in five-star hotels and 26.8% in four-star hotels. The number of Taiwanese visitors who stayed in four-star hotels rose drastically by 32.6% over 2014. The average length of stay in Macao hotel establishments for Taiwanese visitors was 1.8 nights. The above figures show that the Taiwan market performed remarkably last year.
Attract various market segments to experience Macao their own style
A total of four airlines in Macao currently offer direct flights between Macao and the three cities in Taiwan including Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. Targeting the Taiwan market, MGTO will keep joining hands with airlines and tour operators to develop cultural, festive and shopping tour packages, itineraries and styles to explore Macao, tailor-made for a diversity of market segments such as family visitors, office workers, female visitors, newlyweds and silver peers. Moreover, the Office will carry out more promotion activities targeting travel trade in different cities and counties of Taiwan and support local trade across Taiwan to form an alliance to promote travel to Macao. Riding on the promotional alliance and travel fairs, tour operators can jointly promote themed group tours to Macao, such as World Heritage tours and “Step Out, Experience Macao’s Communities” walking tours, to attract visitors from different districts of Taiwan to come to Macao, explore different communities and experience the city’s aroma in their own style. MGTO has launched a brand-new promotional video themed “Experience Macao Your Own Style” in 2016, to convey the key message that every visitor can enjoy a memorable trip in Macao in any style the visitor wishes. MGTO's Public Relations Consultant in Taiwan will design different styles for Taiwanese residents to experience Macao according to their preference.
MGTO continuously supports Macao to radiate a stronger synergistic effect by rolling out an array of promotional activities across visitor source markets to showcase a colorful calendar of events combining tourism, cultural and sports elements. Moreover, the Office is dedicated to developing a greater variety of tourism elements in different combinations and widening the level of collaboration between tourism, culture and sports for a more far-reaching effect of destination marketing, to showcase Macao’s image as a City of Events. Beyond the city, the Office also strives to widen and deepen its partnership with other destinations around the region by carrying on its efforts to promote multi-destination tourism products, so that visitors with different demands can enjoy a greater variety of choices. The above efforts are made to foster visitor market diversification in hope of drawing more Taiwanese visitors to Macao.
澳门特别行政区政府旅游局3日及4日往台湾办春酒及业界洽谈会，介绍今年工作重点及推介旅游产品及节庆盛事，同时加强与台湾业界及媒体的交流合作，致力扩大台湾客源及吸引不同客群，促进客源多元化发展。
澳门特区政府旅游局局长文绮华及副局长谢庆茜等联同20多位澳门旅游业界代表于3日(今)及4日(明)在台北及高雄参加春酒及业界洽谈会。海峡两岸旅游交流协会台北办事处主任满宏卫、澳门经济文化办事处主任梁洁芝、台湾旅行商业同业公会总会理事长许禓哲及台北旅行商业同业公会理事长吴志健等出席了春酒。明天的高雄业界春酒也将邀请高雄市旅行商业同业公会领导出席。
去年台湾市场有不错表现
局长文绮华表示，台湾一直是澳门第3大客源市场，2015年入境澳门的台湾旅客超过98万人次，相较2014年增长百分之3.6，过夜旅客有明显的增长，达到45万多人次，相较2014年增长百分之10；今年1月份的过夜台湾旅客人数增长更有百分之30，反映澳门已成为台湾旅客休闲度假的主要选择之一。
统计暨普查局的资料显示，2015年入境澳门的台湾旅客中有百分之45.6在澳门过夜，而45万多人次的过夜台湾旅客当中，有接近38万人次入住酒店，占过夜台湾旅客的百分之84，而入住酒店的旅客中有百分之66.8入住五星级酒店，百分之26.8 的旅客选择四星级酒店，而入住四星级酒店的台湾旅客相较2014年更增加百分之32.6，台湾旅客在澳门酒店场所的平均留宿时间为1.8晚。按上述数据，去年台湾市场有不错表现。
无限式感受澳门 引不同客群
目前澳门有四家航空公司提供台北、台中、高雄的直航服务，针对台湾市场，旅游局继续与航空公司及旅行社等业者合作，专为亲子旅客、上班族、粉领族、新婚族、银发族，发展文化旅游、节庆旅游及购物旅游等各种套餐行程及建议玩法，并加强对全台湾各县市地方旅游业者进行宣传，支持各地方的旅游业者组成"澳门旅游推广联盟"，以推广联盟的形式结合旅展的平台，共同推广澳门有主题性的团体旅行，例如世界遗产、《论区行赏》步行游等行程，吸引台湾不同地区的客群前往澳门旅游，探索社区文化，感受澳门"无限式"的风情。旅游局今年发表了题为「感受澳门 无限式」的全新旅游宣传影片，传达每位旅客皆可随心拥有专属个人风格的澳门之旅的讯息，旅游局在台湾的市场顾问将按台湾旅客的喜好，构思不同方式好让台湾旅客感受澳门。
旅游局继续配合发挥协同效应，向客源市场推广结合旅游、文化与体育元素的精彩盛事活动，并且开发多样化的旅游元素和组合，加大文化、体育范畴的合作，扩大旅游宣传的综效，展现澳门盛事之都的形象，同时深化和周围旅游区域的合作，持续推广「一程多站」旅游产品，让不同需求的旅客有更多元的选择，竭力推进旅客市场多元化发展，相信可吸引更多台湾旅客来澳游历。
