Spanning a stretch of eight days (1^st – 8^th October), the 1^st October National Day Golden Week will commence on 1^st October. In preparation of the first Golden Week holiday that follows the reinstatement of travel permit issuance for Mainland residents to Macao since 23 September, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has rolled out an array of preparative measures as follows: publicizing information on pandemic prevention among visitors, stepping up patrols and issuing industry notices, organizing and supporting local organizations to launch festive activities, among other measures with which MGTO endeavors to not only cater for residents’ and visitors’ needs but also protect public health and safety with enhanced service quality in Macao.

Promotion for pandemic prevention

MGTO leverages different channels to inform visitors various information about pandemic prevention, such as displaying “Pandemic prevention tips for Mainland visitors in Macao” on TV screens at the Gongbei Port immigration hall, posting pandemic prevention guidelines on MGTO’s website, publicizing information on pandemic prevention at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters at different ports of entry, calling for attention on pandemic prevention on MGTO’s Wechat and Weibo accounts, producing the graphic abstract of “Pandemic prevention tips for Mainland visitors in Macao” in addition to distributing leaflets at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters.

MGTO has opportunely forwarded Health Bureau’s latest pandemic prevention guidelines to travel agencies, who are advised to brief tourism employees such as tour bus drivers and tour guides on the latest information on pandemic prevention and urge them to enhance awareness of personal hygiene and practices to protect themselves and others against the pandemic.

Measures and interdepartmental coordination

MGTO has issued an industry notice, reminding tourism businesses to abide with the pandemic prevention guidelines and pertinent regulations during operation throughout the Golden Week holiday. Operators are also called to raise awareness about various occupational guidelines, requirement for hotels and catering establishments to declare price lists as well as for hotels to keep records of hotel guest information upon check-in, hotel swimming-pool management guideline and so forth. Tourism industry employees are advised to remain vigilant and carry out good personal hygiene practices, besides adhering to pandemic prevention guidelines issued by the Health Bureau and so forth.

MGTO has solicited from local travel agencies their lists of Mainland tour groups to be served during the holiday. Furthermore, the Office has sent a notice to local hotels and guest houses about the graphic abstract and relevant guidelines of pandemic prevention tips for Mainland visitors in Macao. Regarding traffic and transport arrangements at various ports of entry, a meeting was convened with Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Public Security Police Force and Transport Bureau. Another meeting was held with representatives of industry operators regarding various measures.

MGTO maintains regular communication and exchange of information with the relevant departments. During the Golden Week, the Office will step up patrols at various tourist spots, ports of entry and districts, besides taking concerted action with police authorities against illegal accommodation while MGTO inspectors will stand by round-the-clock.

Guideline on crowd management during National Day Fireworks

The “Full Moon National Day Fireworks Celebration by Macao and Hengqin” will be staged at 9 p.m. on the night of 1^st October, for a duration of 20 minutes. After evaluation of the festival and pandemic situation, the Public Security Police Force will enhance manpower to maintain public order. Public enjoying the fireworks display outdoor should wear face mask. Drivers must not slow down on the Sai Van Bridge during the fireworks performance, while tour buses must not drop off passengers at traffic control spots in Taipa. Meanwhile, the Transport Bureau will increase bus frequency to facilitate crowd diversion. MGTO has also issued an industry notice about arrangements for disembarkation/embarkation of tour bus passengers on the day, to facilitate traffic diversion and ensure visitors’ safety. On the other hand, TDM Entertainment Channel and TDM’s Facebook page will live broadcast the spectacular show, while TDM Radio Macau Chinese Channel (FM100.7) will live stream synchronized background music at 9 p.m. when the show kickstarts, for the convenience of residents who choose to watch the fireworks at home.

Festive events and special offers for a fun holiday

MGTO is rolling out “Macao Light Festival 2020 – Light Carnival” from 26^th September to 31^st October, in addition to the “Full Moon National Day Fireworks Celebration by Macao and Hengqin” co-held with the Administrative Committee of Hengqin New Area on National Day to celebrate the 71^st Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. The Office also supports a range of festive events held by local organizations through August to October, including the “The 20^th Anniversary of the Return of Macau to the Motherland: Perception on Macau's History, Culture and Tourism Docent Training Program”, “5^th Macau International Lantern Festival”, “Macao Light Festival 2020 — Light and Color at Cathedral Parish”, “Macao Light Festival 2020 — Fun Journey of Light at Our Lady of Fatima Parish” and “Macao Light Festival 2020 — ‘Light extravaganza on Coloane’ at Parish of St. Francis Xavier”, “Community Tourism – Autumn Afternoons in Macao”, as well as “21^st Southeast Asia Food Carnival”.

MGTO launched the “Macao Ready Go!” online platform in June for wide-range promotion of good deals and discount offers for local shopping, dining, leisure and entertainment as well as hotel accommodation among both residents and visitors. The Macao SAR Government also partners with Tencent, Alibaba, Trip.com, UnionPay International and Air Macau to promote special offers on travel, hotel and air ticket to travelers. The partnerships aim to attract visitors for a vacation in Macao, stimulate increase in tourism expenditure and extend their length of stay in Macao, in turn gaining a momentum for various industries to move forward and revive the economy.

Offer of statistics

MGTO’s online platform Macao Tourism Data plus (http://dataplus.macaotourism.gov.mo) will post provisional visitor arrival figures of every previous day between 2^nd and 9^th October. For the public’s information, MGTO’s website (www.macaotourism.gov.mo) and the Macao Tourism Industry Net (http://industry.macaotourism.gov.mo) regularly post the declared room rates of local hotels and guest houses in all room categories.

MGTO’s website also offers a direct link to the Public Security Police Force’s “Real-Time Information Platform of Border Ports”, which visitors can access to check real-time border-crossing images at Border Gate, Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, Taipa Ferry Terminal, Zhuhai-Macao Cross Border Industrial Zone Border Checkpoint, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Frontier Post as well as Inner Harbour and yacht terminal, hence choosing the suitable timing to leave or enter Macao.

Macao Food Guide for 1^st October Holiday

MGTO partners with the United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao as well as the Association of Macau Small and Medium Enterprises of Catering to publish the Macao Food Guide for 1^st October Holiday (digital version). Offering a contact list of restaurants and eateries open during the National Holiday, the handy food guide familiarizes residents and visitors with relevant restaurants’ operation information. Visitors can download the food guide by scanning the QR code or through MGTO's website and WeChat account.