The Macau SAR Government has announced that the Committee for Development of the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure will conduct an interim review of the city’s first Five-Year Development Plan in order to prepare for the formulation of the next five-year plan.
The decision to conduct the interim review was made last Thursday 20 September during a plenary meeting of the advisory body, itself convened to review the Five-Year Development Plan spanning from 2016 through 2020.
The Committee for Development of the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure is headed by Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On.
The Five-Year Plan, unveiled in February 2016, outlined seven primary objectives of the government – namely stable economic growth, improving the structure of industry, improving quality of life for residents, improving education, environmental protection, strengthening government efficiency and the legal industry and most notably turning Macau into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
That final policy goal has included an increased focus on diversification of the gaming industry, with Chui stating in his 2016 speech that, “We will encourage gaming operators to engage more in large-scale tourism projects that will help diversify the sector by offering more leisure activities and non-gaming elements.”
Macao Government Tourism Office Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes stated during a panel discussion at G2E Asia in May that she hoped to see Macau’s IR operators one day achieve 40% of revenue from non-gaming facilities.
“Whatever the mix is going forward there has to be a balance for the operators and I don’t think Macau can reasonably expect to reach 60% like Las Vegas, but I think 40% non-gaming is the goal in the mid-term,” she said. “Going forward there are a lot of possibilities.”
Part of the government’s World Centre of Tourism and Leisure goal, as presented in 2016, included various infrastructure projects such as completion of the long-awaited light rail system, better links between Macau and Guangdong and a fourth bridge to Taipa – none of which have yet been finalized.
Nevertheless, the government stated last week that its latest quarterly evaluation showed it had achieved “an average accomplishment rate of 90%” across all of its many policy goals.
According to Chui, the Committee plans to broaden the areas covered by the Five-Year Plan in order to include Macau’s role in the development of the Greater Bay Area.
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