Macau Special Adminis- trative Region (SAR) is striving to build a world center of tourism and leisure and update its image as a center of gaming.

“In the past years， Macau has adopted a slew of measures to achieve this goal， including the short， medium and long term plans，” Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes， deputy director of Macau Government Tourist Office， told China’s Foreign Trade at a forum held by Macau Monthly in Macau during August 11-13.

According to Maria， so far research by scholars， the tourism office and related organizations into the construction of Macau as a world center of tourism and leisure has nearly finished. Suggestions from all circles have been collected for the project.

Based on the research， Macau is to follow its plans and move on a way of diversification development， namely the varying of tourism products and tourist sources.

Although Macau is well known for its gaming industry and casinos， its image is not limited to these. Macau has a unique and historic culture blending East and West culture which dates back over 400 years. Over history Macau has been an important gateway through which western civilization entered China， and this land has nurtured a symbiosis of cultural exchange， shaping unique identity.

“The Historic Centre of Macau” as a living testimony to the assimilation and continued coexistence of contrasting cultures over time has now been inscribed on the World Heritage List， making it the 31st designated World Heritage site in China.

Since its return to the motherland， Macau has entered a new era. Tourism is now Macau’s pillar industry. After its return， Macau has witnessed a burgeoning growth of visitors. In 2011， it received 28 million visitors across the world， compared with 7 million in 1999 before the return. In the first half of 2012， visitor arrivals in package tours increased by 25.9 percent on-year to 4，082，895， according to the city’s Statistics and Census Bureau.

However， “Many visitors just swarmed into the well-known tourist sites， like Senado Square， A-Ma Temple and Ruins of St. Paul’s and that made these sites very crowded. We want them to wander in other sites of the historic center which also have their specialties，” said Maria.

The bulk of tourists tend to arrive from the mainland， Hong Kong and Taiwan. However， the number of tourists from outside is also increasing. Last year 3 million tourists outside the Greater China visited Macau， compared with 50，000 in 1999.

“Now there are more and more tourists from Southeast Asia and BRICS countries like Russia and Indonesia， and we are trying to attract more，”Maria said.

Macau’s development is closely related to the mainland. The central Chinese government has put forward an array of plans to build a new Macau. In 2008， The Pearl River Delta Development Outline for the first time positioned Macau as a world center of tourism and leisure and during a visit in November 2011， Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed this goal. The 12th Five-Year Plan this year indicated its support for Macau in developing itself into as a hub of tourism， leisure and appropriately diversifying its economy. In this regard， Macau’s development has been infused into the national development strategy. Beside this the Guangdong and Macau Cooperation Framework Agreement also provides support.

However， the gaming industry still dominates in Macau now and there is insufficient internal impetus to drive economic growth. Many participates at the forum agreed there was need for Macau to change its impression as a gaming centre and further diversify. Especially as in recent years， neighboring countries like Singapore and Japan have also considered the legalization of casinos， which will provide fierce competition in another core industry.

Macau is expected to formulate a comprehensive “master plan” for leisure and commercial tourism development， this will include: improvements to the traffic network， convention and exhibition facilities， diversification of tourism products， marketing and branding of Macau， and human resource allocation for quality sustainable development.

“A world center of tourism and leisure means more than tourism. It means various construction， ancillary facilities and services of the city， and we are uniting the efforts of all the circles in Macau and the mainland，” said Maria.