The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is proud to launch the "Macau Tourist Hotline 333000" today (July 16). From now on, tourists in Macau will be able to obtain information such as the Macau tourism products, programs and activities around town more easily. This will, therefore, give a more abundant, enjoyable and memorable stay for them.

To be in line with the trend and development of the tourism industry, MGTO especially sets up the "Macau Tourist Hotline" to strengthen the services for tourists' enquiries. Tourists from all over the world in Macau can dial 333000 at any local telephones or special kiosks at major tourism spots to obtain the most updated Macau tourism information.

"Macau Tourist Hotline" provides information such as dining-out, hotel accommodation, tourist attraction, entertainment, shopping and transportation etc. Information will be provided in Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Portuguese and Japanese. The 24-hour hotline is there to help the tourists anytime of the day and operator can assist tourist in person from 8 am to 7 pm daily.

Kiosks are set up at the following locations, MGTO at Largo do Senado, G/F of Macau Ferry Terminal, Immigration at Border Gate, Arrival Hall of Macau International Airport, Tourism Activities Centre, Macau Museum, Macau Tower, Rua da Cunha of Taipa and Largo Eduardo Marques Esparteiro of Coloane. Moreover, tourists can also visit MGTO website through the Kiosk for free, or to use other charged services such as making phone calls, sending emails or visiting other websites.

On the other hand, version 2.0 of "MacauMap" in PalmOS, a handheld digital map of Macau for personal digital assistants (PDAs), is also launched today. PalmOS version 2.0 provides information such as hotel, dining-out and tourist attraction guides, photos and Macau map in Chinese and English. Version 2.0 of "MacauMap" in Pocket PC will be launched later this year. MGTO and the University of Macau jointly developed the "MacauMap", a handheld digital map that is compatible with searching software. Version 1.0 of PalmOS and Pocket PC was already released in May.

"MacauMap" shows 1,188 streets of the whole Macau territory, 25 hotels (3 to 5 Star), 225 restaurants, 119 places of interest, as well as the network of 324 public bus stops and 40 bus routes.