In order to better cope with the increase in visitors to Macao during the Labour Day holiday on 1 May, the relevant departments have been actively making work arrangements. Representatives from the Customs and Excise Department, the Public Security Police Force, the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Consumer Council and the Transport Bureau briefed the media on the work arrangements for border control, immigration control, visitor reception and tourism promotion, retail surveillance and consumer rights, traffic measures and emergency response plans at the Border Gate Building this morning (29 October).
The representative of the Macao Customs pointed out that the traffic of vehicles at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is expected to increase during the May Day holiday, and the Macao Port has worked out a plan with the Public Security Police to coordinate the addition of lanes during the peak period of inbound and outbound traffic, and at the same time strengthen the customs inspection arrangements at various entry and exit ports to closely monitor and combat illegal trafficking activities. In response to the "Water Visitors" activities, inspections and identification operations will be carried out in the North District and other relevant areas, and joint operations will be carried out with Gongbei Customs to crack down on related activities. In addition, in view of the off-season fishing moratorium in the South China Sea from 1 May, the department has cooperated with the Marine and Water Bureau to step up inspections of fishing vessels returning to Macao and to do a good job in publicizing marine safety such as fire prevention, wind prevention, anti-theft and anti-pollution prevention.
The representative of the Public Security Police Force said that it will, as always, send more police officers to patrol tourist areas to strictly guard against all kinds of illegal and criminal acts, and carry out monitoring and crackdown on pedestrian violations in various districts of Macao to maintain a safe and orderly road traffic environment. On immigration front, internal staff will be deployed to support the frontline work at the control points, opening additional passenger clearance lanes and lanes during peak flow hours, and adopting diversion measures to ease crowds. In addition, we maintain close communication with the border control departments of the Mainland and Hong Kong to report on the entry and exit situation of each other. The Police appeal to the Border Clearance Traveller to visit the Public Security Police website or the "Real-time Information Platform for Immigration Stations" mobile application before travelling to keep abreast of the flow of people at various control points.
According to the representative of MGTO, MGTO is ready to welcome visitors in all aspects, including actively rolling out online and offline promotions to promote Macao's tourism activities to visitors, strengthening communication with the industry and conducting inter-departmental inspections, and maintaining close liaison with the tourism authorities of the Mainland to ensure the quality of tourism services, allowing visitors to experience Macao's diverse "tourism +" and achieving the goal of promoting tourism and economy through festivals. At the same time, visitors are encouraged to use the "Smart Passenger Flow App" through the dedicated website (https://poimonitor.macaotourism.gov.mo) to check the crowd flow of 114 scenic spots and prepare their travel routes. In addition, in response to the increase in manpower at the Tourist Information Counters, the Tourism Hotline (853) 28333000 remains in operation 24 hours a day to coordinate the handling of emergencies.
The representative of the Consumer Council said that the Council has been actively carrying out comprehensive arrangements to enhance visitors' consumer confidence in Macao. Recently, we have held cross-disciplinary working meetings with various departments to exchange intelligence information, jointly inspect the shopping spots of tour groups, publicize the law in the districts to enhance the law-abiding awareness of traders, and provide timely support or services to residents and tourists in need during long holidays. In addition, the Council has produced a new series of "Travel and Consumption Tips for Macao", which has been widely disseminated to Mainland residents through the China Consumers' Association and consumer associations in the Greater Bay Area, which is believed to help visitors understand Macao's consumer culture and transaction patterns before coming to Macao, so that they can spend with peace of mind.
The representative of the Transport Bureau pointed out that an inter-departmental coordination meeting was held a few days ago to deploy relevant traffic arrangements and emergency plans. Starting from tomorrow (30 October), a number of temporary traffic arrangements will be implemented at various ports of entry and locations with a large number of people and vehicles in Macao, such as setting up temporary queuing areas for shuttle buses, coordinating the increase in the frequency of Jinba buses according to passenger flow, adjusting the temporary diversion measures at the bus stops at Rua do Marina and Parkside Car Park, and adding additional temporary bus routes. At the same time, coordinate the two buses to prepare trailers to deal with unexpected traffic conditions. The Transport Bureau appeals to members of the public and visitors to browse real-time communication information in advance through the Transport Bureau's mobile app, official WeChat and website, etc., to plan their travel routes.