Macao is expected to catch up with Hong Kong in the near future
in terms of mainland tourist traffic, an expert said.
The estimation is based on the increasing trend of Macao's
growing shares in the mainland tourist market and Macao's enriching
tourism facilities.
The number of mainland tourists bound for Macao has been rising
since 1999, causing annual growth of over 30 percent between 1999
and 2004, said Dai Bin, a professor at Beijing International
Studies University, in a recent interview.
Although the growth rate has slowed a little in the past two
years, it still beat the comparative rate for Hong Kong last year,
when Macao registered 14.6 percent growth compared to Hong Kong's
8.4 percent.
Dai described the current gap as "narrow."
Last year, 11.99 million mainland tourists visited Macao while
13.50 million visited its larger rival.
In the past there was even less parity. Only a decade ago,
530,000 mainlanders visited Macao compared to four times as many in
Hong Kong.
Dai said the gap was caused by two factors - Macao used to rely
on Hong Kong's transportation facilities, and tour promotions
always highlighted Hong Kong as a metropolitan paradise for
shoppers.
Macao was long overshadowed by Hong Kong, which also formed part
of the route to Macao for many travelers, he said.
To help correct the imbalance, Macao expanded its airport,
introduced the Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel and spent more on
promoting tourism.
The Venetian Macao opened on August 28 as reportedly the largest
hotel in Asia. It has since added 3,000 rooms, multiple
entertainment facilities, and 110,000 sq m of convention area to
Macao's tourism resources. At least 44 exhibitions and fairs have
already booked the convention facilities, which will be occupied
until next April.
Dai said these efforts have given domestic and international
tourism a major boost.
"The mainland, Hong Kong and Macao have formed a tourist circle,
supplementing each other with different tourism resources," he
said.
The circle will gradually grow in stature as China moves to
wield a stronger influence on the global market, especially in
Southeast Asia, he added.
At present, residents of 33 mainland cities can travel to Macao,
while Chinese in other parts of the country have to join tour
groups to go there.
(China Daily October 1, 2007)
