“Golden Week”

THE Macau Government Tourist Office has released preliminary data indicating that over one million people entered Macau during the so-called “Golden Week” (from January 31 to February 6), a growth of 13% compared to the previous year.
According to MGTO, over 770,000 of the overall visitors came from mainland China, an increase of 23%. The hotels were almost full (94.4%) and the gaming operators are expected to hit a new record this month.
The 13% increase in visitors could be seen in the overcrowded streets. There were days when it was impossible for human traffic to circulate in the central area. The authorities decided to implement crowd control measures at San Ma Lo (Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro) to ensure the safety of pedestrians. It certainly isn’t pleasant to be treated like cattle and to make long detours on the way to a destination, but maybe that was the only way to avoid serious accidents. In this regard, it must be said that the police did good work and ensured public order. The fact that nothing very serious happened under these circumstances can’t be attributed only to pure luck.
The Times reporter Grace Yu was out on the streets on the most crowded day and registered conflicting opinions about the atmosphere created by such a multitude. In a bustling Senado Square, she interviewed Ms Bao, from Guangdong province, who was visiting Macau with her family for the first time and said she had not expected so many people to be in the territory: “I feel that the land could be stamped flat,” she commented, adding that she was not frustrated by the crowd: “The crowd makes the atmosphere lively – that’s what a Chinese New Year should be.”
On the other hand, another visitor, Mr Wang, also a first-time visitor to Macau, claimed that his mood was “greatly affected”: “It’s hard to move and walk with so many people. We dared not go into those food booths; it’s a squeeze.” The Shenzhen resident went to a casino but didn’t gamble because there were “too many people inside” and criticized the crowd-control measures as ineffective: “The traffic and flow control are not as good as those in Hong Kong. It’s too messy. (…) Look at the area near the Ruins of St. Paul’s; it could be serious if any sudden mass accident occurs.”
And what about the people that live in Macau? They can’t even say that the crowds are gone after the “Golden Week”. That time is for sure the busiest of the year, but as a Macau old-timer told me the other day, the central area is like a rock concert everyday.
This congestion infuriates some residents, but the locals are typically reserved and many times withhold their criticism, maybe because of the fragile historical circumstances in which the local community has thrived.
But we could see some indignation being vented through social media. The president of the Macanese Association, for example, posted a picture of the crowds in San Ma Lou with the ironic caption: “The price of development.” Commenting on the post, he added an interesting concept: “Touristic pollution.” Someone else added, “What horror!” (This reminds me of Conrad’s fictional character Kurtz, whom, in chaotic circumstances, muttered: “The horror… the horror…”)
The crowds seem to be a fact of life in 21st century Macau, but everybody who lives here should get together and demand that the economic benefits brought by those crowds are enjoyed by all and don’t just end up in a few “deep pockets.” It would be encouraging to see some concrete measures that surpass the subsidies (after all, money isn’t everything, right?). Why not, for example, build in the new reclaimed areas a park comparable to the ones that exist in major cities around the region – like Victoria Park in HK, the Botanic Gardens or the recently opened Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, the Olympic Park in Seoul, or Yoyogi Park in Tokyo? Places where people can rest, enjoy the landscape, and breathe?
On a humorous note, the local Environmental Protection Bureau posted a press release on Golden Week’s most crowded day, stating that the number of black-faced spoonbills in Macau “has beaten an historical record and new pedagogical elements have been added to Cotai’s Ecological Zones.” It seems that the environment has been good lately… especially for the birds.
(PB, in MDT)