Air Macau is going to cooperate with Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), Kyushu Branch to provide charter flight service and organize Japanese tourists to visit Macau. The proposed plan is that, starting from the end of this year to the next January, there will be a total of 6 charter flights between Macau and Nagasaki and Fukuoka of Japan.

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has been striving to promote the charter flight program between Macau and Japan so as to strengthen transport links and to consolidate the tourism tie between the two.

Japan Travel Bureau is a very well established travel company in Japan. They were interested in organizing Japanese tour groups to Macau and proposed to put forward the charter flight program in which Air Macau will be responsible for provide the flight service.

According to the plan, from December 30th of 2000 to January 8th of 2001, there will be six charter flights between Macau and Japan and Air Macau will use a 150-seated A-321 airbus to convey the passengers.

The proposed schedule of the 6 charter flights is as follows: December 30 of 2000 from Nagasaki to Macau, January 2 of 2001 from Macau to Nagasaki (the flight will then transit to Fukuoka), January 2 of 2001 from Fukuoka to Macau, January 5 of 2001 from Macau to Fukuoka, January 5 of 2001 from Fukuoka to Macau, January 8 of 2001 from Macau to Fukuoka.

Macau Government Tourist Office will stage a series of tourism promotion campaign in Tokyo starting from today (September 20). Air Macau and Japan Travel Bureau will also confirm on the charter program service. MGTO will organize Press Conference in the afternoon and announce on the concerned matter.

Japan Travel Bureau is a well established and leading travel company in Japan. Its interest and participation in organizing charter tours to Macau reveal not only the confidence of Japanese in Macau after her return to the Motherland, but also that Macau is an attractive tourist destination.

The introduction of charter flights will lay the foundation for the ultimate wish of reaching an aviation agreement and developing scheduled flight service between Macau and Japan. It will have a significant role in bolstering the transport links as well as in developing and consolidating Japan as a major tourist market.

Japan is one of the largest sources of tourists for Macau. For the first 7 months of this year, 81,000 Japanese visitors came to Macau. With signs of an economic recovery in Japan and a stronger yen, more and more Japanese will plan holidays abroad and choose Macau as their destination for leisure, convention or incentive travel.