M.U.S.T. Reveals “Persons with Value in the Macao Tourism and Leisure Industry”
Press Conference for Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019)
Organized by the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of Macau University of Science and Technology and the Social Sciences Academic Press (China), and sponsored by the Macao Foundation, the 20 Persons in 20 Years: the Persons with Value in Macao Tourism and Leisure Industry since Return to China cum Press Release Conference for the Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019) was held at Conference Hall N101 of M.U.S.T. in the morning of October 29, 2019.
Opening Ceremony
The Institute for Social and Cultural Research of Macau University of Science and Technology and the Macau Tourism Association jointly compiled Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019) to review, critique, and predict the achievements, experience and trends of the development of the tourism and leisure industry of Macao since the turnover. The Report includes several firsts in contents and approaches. It incorporates the gaming industry into its categories of observations and review, it attempts to set up a review system for the social responsibilities of the gaming companies and hotel management, it proposes the idea of Macao-Hengqin co-developing as a world tourism and leisure center, and it selects the most valuable individuals of the tourism and leisure industry of Macao since its return to the motherland.
Press Conference for Macao Tourism and Leisure Development Report 2018-2-19
The Macao Tourism and Leisure Industry Most Valuable Individuals project team takes leadership, contribution, innovation, sense of commitment and responsibilities, and influences as the benchmark via a comprehensive system of selection procedures, including nomination by experts, recommendation by industry (societies and associations), preliminary selection, experts’ review, and data double check, and finally singles out “20 Persons in 20 Years: the Persons with Value in Macao Tourism and Leisure Industry since Return to China”. Of the 20 remarkable individuals, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Lui Che Woo, and Sheldon Adelson are elected “Persons with Significant Values”, while Andrew Stow, Manuela Ferreira, Wong Suk Yan, Lui Yiu Tung, Lao Nga Wong, So Shu Fai, Ho Chiu King, Ho Yau Lung, Linda Chen, Chun Jay, Lin Huo Mu, Chau Cheok Wa, Chow Kam Fai, Wu Wai Fong, O Hoi Fan, Vong Chuk Kwan, Wong Im Leng, Siu Son Hin, Sio Un I, and Leong Chan Kuong are elected “Persons with Values”. The named individuals cover a wide range of fields and industries, including gaming, hospitality, restaurant, retail sales, transportation, education, science and technology, human resources, and exhibitions; among them are world-class leading figures, successful entrepreneurs, experts in tourism education, leaders of tourism and leisure societies, and ordinary frontier practitioners of tourism businesses.
Vice President Pang Chuan of M.U.S.T. delivered a speech
Vice President Pang Chuan congratulated the marked individuals. He pointed out that since Macao returned to the motherland, its economy has developed fast, people’s livelihood has improved continuously, and the society has been growing steadfast in harmony, which has led to a series of impressive achievements and demonstrated the powerful vitality of the “One Country Two Systems” principle. Over the past 20 years, Macao’s tourism and leisure industry has achieved a leapfrog development with its market scale, infrastructure, industry stand, international profile, and education quality and scale advancing to world standards. Indeed, these accomplishments are possible due to the great support given by the Central Government and other brotherly provinces and regions. Other contributing factors are the extensive and accurate implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the Basic Law by the Macao S.A.R. Government, and its scientific policies and daring advancement, and to the hard work and devotion of the various social communities, especially that of the tourism and leisure industry.
Director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Research Prof. Lin Guangzhi shared thoughts on compilation of the Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019)
As the principal editor of Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019), Director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Research of M.U.S.T. Prof. Lin Guangzhi noted that in the course of the twenty years since Macao returned to the motherland, it has made impressive accomplishments in its tourism and leisure industry. Nevertheless, behind the high-speed development lie also some problems, such as its limited capacity, imbalance of product structure, weakness in development of tourism technologies, inadequacy of human resources, and impoverished international impact. He pointed out that looking ahead, Macao’s tourism and leisure industry should hold tight to the unprecedented opportunities made available by the “Belt & Road” initiative, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development and the new implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and place great emphasis in the following aspects:
First, it’s necessary for Macao to accelerate its pace in developing the city into a world tourism and leisure center in the context of the Guangdong-Hong Kong –Macao Greater Bay Area. The Greater Bay Area construction represents a new practice in implementing the “One Country, Two Systems” cause, as a national strategy made for the purpose of ensuring the longtime prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao. In the new era, Macao should act on the principle of “aiming at national demands by exerting Macao’s strengths”, identify its best role in incorporating into the Greater Bay Area development, seize opportunities, dare to innovate, take initiatives, and prompt Macao to grow to become a world-class tourism and leisure center as a desirable destination for residence, business, transportation, travel, and entertainment, reinforce cooperation with the Great Bay Area cities in the field of tourism and leisure, especially by joining forces with Henqin to co-develop the world tourism and leisure center, make optimal use of the radiating and stimulating role of Macao’s tourism and leisure industry, and seek in-depth integrated development with the Henqin new region.
To follow, it’s essential that Macao handles the relationship between the tourism gaming industry and the adequate diversification of economy rightly. On the one hand, Macao should undertake a full-scale review of the achievements, experience and problems, which derive from the licensing of rights to gambling, and take the opportunity of a new round of bidding for gambling licenses to prompt a structural readjustment and industrial upgrade for the gaming industry so as to sustain the gaming industry’s international competitiveness and impact. On the other hand, the relevant parties should also make efforts to seek diversification, be it vertical diversification or horizontal diversification, so as to reinforce the stimulating power of the gaming industry in driving other industries such as emerging industries and non-gaming industries, and eventually achieve a balanced and sustainable economic structure.
Third, Macao needs to diversify and enrich its supply of tourism and leisure products so as to sustain its tourism services quality. It should act in accordance with the goals and strategies stated by Macao Tourism Industry Development Outline Plan, put forth great efforts to develop the general community of the tourism and leisure industry, high-quality tourism, and cultural tourism, parlay the cultural tourism wealth of its region of world heritage sites, fulfill its role as a “Capital of Gastronomy”, explore ocean- and islands-based tourism, expedite the pace of smart tourism development, move forward development and supply of tourism and leisure products, and improve quality of tourism services continuously.
Fourth, Macao should also handle the relationship between being desirable for residence and being desirable for tourism, improve its urban infrastructure continuously, and plan an orderly and harmonious development in that direction. It should also pick up pace in planning and deploying its land-ocean coordination force, especially with respect to urban planning, transportation construction, urban intelligence, and services improvement, improve and fulfill the diverting functions and potentials of the Boarder Gate, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Tsing Chau Cross Border Industrial Area, and the Hengqin checkpoint, install a system for adjustment and alerting of urban capacity, reinforce the residents’ sense of fulfillment and happiness resulting from the tourism and leisure industry development, and elevate Macao’s reputation and international image as a provider of tourism and leisure services.
Fifth, Macao needs to establish a multi-lateral tourism cooperation mechanism, and explore a new path featuring investment in and cooperation with the countries along the “Belt & Road”. One of the observable shortcomings for Macao’s tourism and leisure industry has been the small portion of international travellers. In 1999, the number of mainland Chinese travellers accounted for 21.1% of all travellers to Macao, while in 2018, the proportion of mainland Chinese travellers has risen to 70.6%, and those of Hong Kong travellers and Taiwan travellers are 17.7% and 3%, respectively. In contrast, there is a big room for development in terms of European travellers and East-Asians. As a result, Macao should reinforce its cooperation with the “Belt & Road” countries, strive for precision in tourism promotion targeting at these countries, make proactive efforts to expand its pool of international tourism resources, and explore other potential paths in international tourism investment and cooperation.
Sixth, Macao should reinforce coordination and planning for its tourism educational resources, and release its huge potentials in high-quality tourism education. Since returning to the motherland, the scale of tourism and leisure education in Macao universities has been expanding, with its quality improved and impacts expanded continuously. Macao universities have made their rightful contributions to the growth of Macao tourism and leisure industry. Currently, Macao’s tourism and leisure educational resources are relatively scattered, and therefore lack effective coordination and integration. Thus, the Macao S.A.R. Government should reinforce its planning and coordination of the tourism and leisure educational resources, strengthen cross-university cooperation, seek synergetic development involving more universities, expand scale, jointly build a “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Tourism Education Training Base”, and contribute forces to the development of tourism and leisure economy in the Greater Bay Area or even all across China.
In recent years, the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of Macau University of Science and Technology has been acting on the positioning of Macao as a world tourism and leisure center, and publishing an annual Macao Tourism and Leisure Development Report continuously, so as to provide observations and reviews of Macao’s tourism and leisure industry for considerations by the S.A.R. Government in policy-making and by the industrial and academic communities. The compilation work of next year’s development report has been officially launched, and the new theme would be the sustainable development of the Macao tourism and leisure industry.
Group photo of all the attending guests
Principal guests attending the event include Deputy Director-General, Mr. Xu Jun, Director, Mr. Zuo Xiang Hua, and Deputy Director, Mr. Zhou Peng, of the Department of Economy of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in the Macao S.A.R., President of the Social Sciences Academic Press (China), Mr. Xie Shou Guang, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office, Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Vice President of the Macao Foundation, Ms. Zhong Yi, Deputy Director of the Policy Research and Regional Development Bureau, Mr Ung Hoi Ian, Acting Director of the Macao Higher Education Bureau, Mr. Lam Man Tat, Director of the Research and Investigation Department of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Ms. Chan Ioc Sut, Vice President Tong Ka Lok and Vice President Pang Chuan of Macau University of Science and Technology, Director of the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of M.U.S.T., Prof. Lin Guang Zhi, among more than 300 other guests, scholars, teachers and students.
Annual Report on Development of Travel & Leisure in Macau (2018-2019)
