Led by Deputy Director of Macau Government Tourist Office Manuel Pires, a working team comprising representatives of the Macau Tourism Development Committee and MGTO have visited Beijing for a work meeting with the China National Tourism Administration.

The main objective was to provide a detailed report to CNTA about the Hebei tour group incident at Hac Sa Beach in Macau, where mainland Chinese travelers became irate after they felt duped by their Macanese tour guides. In addition, the delegation heard opinions and suggestions of CNTA on market regulation and other issues concerning the tourism industry.

During the meeting, members of the delegation first thanked CNTA for its continuous support and attention throughout the years for the tourism industry of Macau, which has flourished under the favorable conditions created by the continuous opening of the Mainland tourism market in recent years, and also sought the continuous support and guidance of CNTA for its work in the future. The delegation also reported in detail to CNTA about the Hebei tour group incident which occurred at Hac Sa Beach on December 4, 2007 as well as the latest results of the investigation.

Following the implementation of the "Macau Tour" policy in the beginning of 2002, MGTO says it has actively complemented the measures put in place by CNTA. In order to ensure that the local travel agents who are qualified to operate, MGTO and travel agents of Macau jointly established and confirmed a "Macau Tour" management mechanism for receiving agents, which dictated that travel agents violating the related clauses will be disqualified from receiving "Macau Tour" credentials by MGTO and reported to CNTA.

Since the management mechanism has been in operation for a number of years, and the tourism market has experienced rapid development in recent years, MGTO is currently discussing with the Association of Macau Tourist Agents, Travel Industry Council of Macau and Macau Travel Agency Association to establish a new management mechanism for "Macau Tour" that is in line with the actual conditions of Macau’s tourism industry. The relevant clauses are expected to be completed early next year.