Macau comes of age
Once a quiet and quaint place known for its cobbled streets, the romantic Ruins of St Paul’s and the annual Grand Prix, Macau has grown and flourished since the official handover from Portugal to China in 1999.
Once a quiet and quaint place known for its cobbled streets, the romantic Ruins of St Paul’s and the annual Grand Prix, Macau has grown and flourished since the official handover from Portugal to China in 1999.
The biggest change has taken place since 2006 as the tourism industry has boomed and the city has become the world’s largest gaming centre. The Macau SAR Government promotes the former Portuguese enclave as a vital link between the Chinese Mainland and global markets, with tourism, hospitality and gaming as the biggest sectors.
Now, Macau boasts its own House of Dancing Water stage spectacular as well as other permanent and touring attractions. Large, glitzy hotels attract not only 2.5 million mainland visitors each month, but also business travellers from around the world. In 2003, 964 meetings and 66 exhibitions were held in the city.
The enclave is a free port, a tax haven and an offshore financial centre, offering a cultivated, fair and orderly market environment. Macau’s textile, clothing and footwear industries make up about 75 percent of its export earnings. The World Bank has named Macau as one of the richest cities in the world and it is considered a high-income economy. Excluding the government, the gaming and recreational sectors are the largest employers, followed by hotels and manufacturing.
Educational infrastructure is seeing robust development as well. Local residents receive fifteen years of free K-12 education and there is 99 percent literacy. The mixture of public and private schools in Macau is encouraged by the government to offer a diversified school system, nurturing more talent for a gradually diversifying economy.
According to the Continuing Education Development Plan launched in 2011, various education support programmes and subsidies are available for Macau residents beyond high school.
An Open Campus Campaign encourages schools to open facilities to the public to encourage exchange between students and residents.
Meanwhile various government schemes provide support and subsidies for schools. These include the Professional Development of Teaching Staff programme, which enables more classroom assistants to be hired, leaving teachers free of non-teaching work.
