Filipino tourist arrivals in Macau continue to grow

FILIPINO tourist arrival in Macau have continued to grow at an average annual growth of 20 percent since 1998, making the country as among top generating markets to China's Special Administrative Region.

This, according to Narzalina Lim, general manager of Macau Government Tourism Office-Philippines, whose team arrived in Davao City Friday for a five-day visit to promote Macau and met with Davao Region's tourism stakeholders, corporate partners and the media.

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From January to May this year, Lim said Tuesday the Philippines was seventh on the list of the Top 10 Visitor Generating Markets of Macau, ranking higher than Thailand and Singapore.

During the same period, Filipino visitors to Macau totaled 113,473, representing an increase of 5.5 percent as compared to the same period last year. For the same period, total tourist arrivals in Macau have already exceeded the 10 million mark with 10,325,051 tourist arrivals, representing a 15.8 percent increase over last year's figures for the same period.

Mainland China accounted for 53.5 percent of that total, the number representing an increase of almost a quarter over the previous years.

Filipino tourists, Lim said, have continued to visit Macau because of its accessibility and affordability with two Philippine-based airlines -- PAL and Cebu Pacific -- offering direct flights to Macau from Manila and Clark, at the same time offering cheap promotional packages.

For instance, the Macau tourism office, reported that Cebu Pacific is presently offering less than P15,000 promo package that includes three-day, two-night accommodation, with free breakfast at Macau's East Asia Hotel and with free city tour.

But with the implementation of the "open skies" policy, which will be announced soon by the Aquino administration, more Filipinos are expected to visit Macau, particularly travelers from Davao Region and its nearby provinces.

"With the open skies policy in place, more airlines will be servicing the Philippine-Macau route and these airlines will surely utilize the Davao City Airport," she said.

"There's a market here. That's not a problem," she said.

Lim added that Macau is not all about gambling.

Lim said Macau also boasts of its destinations, culture, heritage, world-class events and adventures.

"We don't promote gambling. Gamblers just go to Macau," she said.

For the traveler eager to take in some unique cultural experience, Lim said there is no better place to start than Macau's historic center, declared as World Heritage Site. It is a reflection of the centuries of cultural exchange between East and West.

She also made mention of the upcoming water-based extravaganza, "The House of Dancing Water", which is set to open on September 7 at the awe-inspiring 2,000 seat Dancing Water Theater at the City of Dreams, an integrated entertainment resort that is the newest must-experience destination in Macau developed by Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.

The show will feature dazzling costumes and amazing audio and visual special effects.

The robust state of Macau's tourism industry has spurred even more new investments not only in tourist attractions but also in world class convention and exhibition facilities which explains the hotel occupancy already hitting 84.2 percent in the 1st quarter of the year.

Furthermore, the city has already hosted 397 meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions for the same period, an increase of 4.2 percent over the figure for the same time last year.

Between 2009 and 2010 at least four more tourist facilities -- the City of Dreams, and integrated resort and L'Arc, Encore at Wynn and the Mandarin Oriental - all upscale hotels - opened in this Special Administrative Regions of China.

While Macau's historic past and colorful blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures are what gives the city its unique charm, it continues to invest in new and more varied tourist attractions and world class facilities to make it an even more interesting travel destination.