The Macau experience

Lying on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, Macau offers visitors many interesting places to visit, and is a popular tourist destination in the Far East. It is rich in attractions as a result of hundreds of years of fusion between European and Chinese cultures. As the first and last European colony in China, tourism is a major industry in Macau. This Special Administrative Region of China offers a rich cultural heritage that has been widely recognised by the global community. The Historic Centre of Macau, for example, was recently included on Unesco’s World Heritage List. But Macau also has plenty of modern attractions as well, and is especially famous for its casinos, with the gaming industry forming 70% of the government income. Among the famous gaming joints are the Casino Lisboa, Macau, Sands Macau, Wynn Macau and of course, the new Venetian Macao. Apart from that, there are also plenty of beautiful parks and gardens in and around the peninsula for visitors to relax and explore. Macau is currently developing a tourism model that integrates the city’s culture, convention and exhibition, gaming and retail, sports, leisure, festive events and culinary exploits – running along the theme: Macau, a World of Difference. Numerous annual international events and cultural activities are also held here, including the Macau Grand Prix, Macau International Fireworks Display Contest and Macau International Music Festival. From historical museums to fireworks, motor grand prix and horse racing, Macau never sleeps. Recently, Macau welcomed almost 720,000 visitors during the Chinese New Year "Golden Week" holiday. As it’s spring time in Macau now, the climate is ideal for holiday makers from around the world to enjoy and see what Macau has to offer. Accommodation is aplenty with a hotel for every kind of budget. Regular flights on Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines makes travelling to Macau easy and convenient (see box above for more). For more information on Macau holidays, log on to www.macautourism.com.my or www.macautourism.gov.mo. Travelling by air Macau International Airport (MFM) is off the shore of Taipa Island. Because of its low fees, it has been able to attract several low-cost airlines to serve Macau and currently available are: » AirAsia: multiple flights daily from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu, as well as three weekly flights from Kuching. » Cebu Pacific Air: has daily flights from Manila. » Tiger Airways: daily flights from Singapore and Clark Airbase, two hours north of Manila » Viva Macau: to take up service shortly, with flights from Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh city, Tokyo, Busan and Male Other airlines such as Air Macau and Shanghai Air also have flights to Macau.