16
Visitor number
leap in 2008
T
he number of visitors to Macau rose 11 percent to 30.2 million in
2008 despite the economic downturn and visa curbs on mainland
travellers. Tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan made
up the bulk of the visitors, but arrivals from some other Asian countries
rose sharply in 2008, the Macau Government Tourist Office said.
Tourism chief João Manuel Costa Antunes said the strong growth
in visitors from southeast and northeast Asian countries showed
Macau was making good progress towards diversifying its source
markets. Arrivals from Thailand last year surged 81 percent, while
those from Singapore were up 41 percent and visitor numbers from the
Philippines, South Korea, and Japan increased by between 20 and 30
percent. Tourism has surged since the casino industry was liberalised
and billions of dollars of investment began pouring in. However, the
number of visitors from mainland China began shrinking in the second
half of the year after Beijing introduced new restrictions on visas,
leading to a 10-percent drop in gaming revenues in the third quarter.
Antunes was cautious about the year ahead. ‘If we have by the end of
2009 the same (tourist) numbers of 2008, or a little increase, or a little
decrease, I think we’ll have achieved a good result,’ he told Hong Kong
broadcaster Cable News.
M
O
.
C
Macau ups HK in tourists
OTO
Macau surpassed Hong Kong in tourist numbers for the first time,
H
P
K
receiving more than 30 million tourists in 2008, according to Hong
C
Kong’s HKNet. Hong Kong Chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen
TO
S
U
praised Macau for its achievement and said it had a positive effect on the
A
C
A
whole Pearl Delta region as the neighbouring cities tourism resources .
M
were complementary to one another. Tsang added that he’d consider
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W
setting up a tourism board for planning tourism policies but was unsure
:
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if the proposal would be agreed by Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. OTO
H
P
Wanted
scheduled to appear in another related trial.
Parallel investigations of that into the
Doing time
former secretary have already led to a the Local businessman, frederico Nolasco da
Orders have been issued
issuing of the red alerts in January 2008, Silva, jailed for six years for corruption in a
against businessmen Pedro Chiang and process linked to the former secretary ao
by interpol to stop six local
Ho Meng fai, as well as against ao Man Man Long, has started his sentence in Macau
suspects connected to the
Long’s wife, Camila Chan Meng Ieng.
Prison, local Portuguese newspaper Ponto
Ao Man Long scandal
Last month, three more alerts were
final reported. frederico Nolasco da Silva,
issued against Chan Lin Ian and Lam Man,
manager of H. Nolasco company, was the
A
nti-corruption agents have and Lei Leong Chi.
only businessman to appear at the trial that
put out an international alert for hal;f a Chan Li Ian, Lam Man I and Lei
had as co-defendants the father, the brother
dozen suspects wanted in connection with Leong Chi are wanted for alleged money
and the sister-in-law of the former senior
Macau’s biggest ever corruption scandal. laundering, while Pedro Chiang is wanted
official. In the first trial, Nolasco da Silva was
sentenced to 10 years for active corruption
The Macau Commissioner against for alleged crimes involving weapons and
and money laundering. Later, the appeal
Corruption (CaC) has posted requests explosives, fraud and money laundering.
Court reduced his sentence to six years.
to the international police organisation, Ho Meng fai is accused of fraud and
Local entrepreneurs, Ho Meng fai and Chan
Interpol, requesting the ‘red notices’ – money laundering and Camila Chan Meng
Tong Sang, also defendants in the same trial,
international stop request – be issued for Ieng, fraud.
did not show up in court. Nolasco da Silva
six individuals allegedly involved in the a red alert is not an international
was an administrator of CSr, the garbage
scandal that brought down the former arrest warrant, since Interpol’s role is to
collecting company, and confessed to having
Secretary for Public Works, ao Man Long. help national authorities to identify and given money to ao Man Long, despite
ao is already serving a 27 year jail locate people in order to obtain their considering that his company had won public
term for a raft of graft convictions and is detention and extradition. tenders because it was the best candidate.
february 2009
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