ON THE PATH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION FOR GAMING-LED TOURISM CITY: THE CASE OF MACAO

Abstract

As one of the two special administrative regions of China, Macao is a gaming-led tourism city owing to its unique city profile. Macao has rich historic buildings and monuments, and the historic center was awarded `World Cultural Heritage\' by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2005. Since reunification with China in 1999, the Macao Government has defined gaming sector as their long term economic development direction and has deregulated the monopoly of the gaming industry in 2002. This strategy has successfully boosted the tourism as well as the economics in the city. However, the transportation system does not catch up with the increasing demand from both citizens and visitors, and the mobility of people within the city is of increasing concern. Notably, casinos and gaming groups provided their own transportation service - free shuttle services between selected locations - to compete between each other. This solves part of the transportation problem for visitors but also damages the accessibility of many local residents in various ways. Recently, the Government has announced the first ten-year land transport policy consultation paper for defining goals towards sustainable transportation development for the next decade. In this study, an overview of transportation system of Macao will be carried out through the assessment of urban development, land use and tourism. The impacts of city development and the possible directions for sustainable transportation of the city will be discussed. The unique experience for a tourism oriented city for developing transport sustainability will be critically examined.