In an exclusive interview with TTI, Arzan Khambatta, Head of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in India highlighted the focus areas of the tourism office in 2019 and plans to further promote the destination. Following are the excerpts…
Q. Macao, a short haul destination from India is growing in popularity here. 2018 was the year of gastronomy in Macao. Please share your plans for 2019?
A. 2018 was overall a good year for us. We welcomed approximately 1,50,000 Indian tourists last year. We were happy to celebrate the occasion of Macao being designated as “Creative City of Gastronomy” by UNESCO. In 2019, MGTO is dedicated to deepening Macao’s development as a Creative City of Gastronomy and continuously carrying out the action plans of the master plan. India is the 11th biggest source market for us. We expect a growth of 8 per cent in tourist arrivals from India in 2019.
This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). So, there will be a number of events and consumer campaigns around the anniversary. We will be bringing these celebrations to India as well. We will continue with our roadshows. MICE will be one of our major focus segments in 2019. At present 80 per cent of Indian visitors to Macao come from the leisure segment. Our Incentive Stimulation Program is specially designed to attract MICE tourists and support them for choosing Macao as their MICE destination. This year looks very promising as we have already two Indian incentive groups confirmed and remaining of 2019 also looks positive.
We will be organising familiarisation trips for the travel agents and event planners, showcasing them the advantages of bringing their groups in Macao. We see a lot of potential in the wedding segment too and would like to tap this segment as well. In a nutshell what holds good for Macao is the fact that it is easier to travel thanks to great connectivity, is visa free, and has state-of-the-art infrastructure and amazing gastronomical offerings.
Q. What do you think makes Macao such a popular tourist destination?
A. One needs to understand that Macao is not only about gambling, casinos or luxury entertainment. Its Portuguese past mingles with the present to create a unique architecture, history and culture that is mesmerising. A lot of efforts have been made to boost tourism in the “Las Vegas of the East” through new infrastructure and resorts. A lot of importance has been given to promote art, culture, music and film festivals.
Q. Macao has been promoted as a combo destination, clubbed with places like Hong Kong. What potential do you see projecting Macao as a standalone destination?
A. We have seen clubbing two or more destinations beneficial for all the parties concerned. From a consumer point of view also, it offers a perfect holiday option. So, we do see majority of tourists opting for tour packages that also include nearby destinations. However, we are still promoting Macao as a standalone destination especially for the MICE segment.
Destinations like Hong Kong and Macao are seen as one region. The opening of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) (world’s longest sea-crossing structure) has connected the three major cities in China’s Pearl River Delta area, namely Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. This bridge has resulted in better package pricing, travel time has considerably reduced and above all it is an architectural marvel and a tourist attraction in its own. Indians love manmade structures and it will be one such attraction they will come and explore.
Q. What are the marketing activities MGTO has planned in India?
A. We are looking at both traditional and the new age marketing tools. Also, we need to keep a balance between trade and consumer activities. So, for B2C segment we have digital campaigns and are very active on social media platforms. We also organize roadshows for the consumer segment. We are looking at technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) to promote the destination among the consumers. We have launched a new brand mascot – which is ‘Mak Mak’, a black-faced spoonbill. It is integrated in all the campaigns. It is very innovative and interesting. We also integrated Macao in the Tinkle magazine in 2018. These are the kinds of ideas we are coming up to reach out to the consumers.
We also did advertising in multiplexes in the past. So, in terms of investment, 65% of our marketing budget is for B2C and 35% for B2B promotions. So, far our focus was on metro markets but we have realised the importance of secondary Indian cities. We will now participate in the regional exhibitions, marts and roadshows in association with our partners.