HK-Macau comparative study: Macau people visit the Mainland much more frequently, mainly for leisure and shoppingBack

Since 1992, the Public Opinion Programme (POP) at the University of Hong Kong has been conducting studies in Macau, in order to map its changing public sentiment. A total of 9 surveys have been completed in the past 10 years, with election exit polls and public opinion surveys being the main foci. All studies are conducted independently by the POP research team, unaffected by any government or sponsor.

After the handovers of Hong Kong and Macau, the public mood of the two societies have come closer and closer. In the middle of last year, POP and the Union For Construction Of Macau reached an agreement to embark on a "Joint Project on Regular Opinion Surveys in Macau", initially for one year, which aims at establishing in Macau a mechanism to conduct scientific opinion surveys, reinforcing the channels for collecting public opinion, fostering the development of opinion surveys in Macau, as well as providing scientific opinion data for comparative studies between Hong Kong and Macau.

The first survey of this joint project was conducted in Macau between August 21 and 25, 2003, which focused on Macau people's views on Article 23 of the Basic Law, and their satisfaction with the consultation mechanism and policy direction of the Macau SAR Government. The results have been released in September and October last year in two parts. Released today are the findings of the second survey of this joint project, which focuses on Macau people's habit of visiting Mainland China, and their opinion on the implementation of the 24-hour border crossing between Macau and the Mainland. This survey was conducted between October 27 and 31, 2003, by random telephone surveys executed by interviewers, it successfully interviewed 542 Macau citizens of age 18 or above.

With respect to people's habit of visiting Mainland China, for easy comparison of the relevant figures between Hong Kong and Macau, findings from a Hong Kong survey conducted more or less over the same period have been listed side by side as follows:

* "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified.

Results showed that, 90% Macau people had visited Mainland China in the year past, for more than 3 times on average, traveling with almost 3 other persons, and spending about M$275 per person. For Hong Kong people, 56% had visited Mainland China in the year past, for 1-2 times on average, also traveling with almost 3 other persons, and spending about HK$870 per person. Findings also revealed that, 68% of Macau people visited the Mainland for leisure or shopping, whereas most Hong Kong people, 29% went for touring or sightseeing.

On the other hand, the survey has also gauged Macau people's opinion on the implementation of the 24-hour border crossing between Macau and the Mainland. Detailed figures are summarized below:

* "95% confidence level" means that if we were to repeat a certain survey 100 times, using the same questions each time but with different random samples, we would expect 95 times getting a figure within the error margins specified.

Results showed that, although 47% of Macau people agreed with the implementation of the 24-hour border crossing between Macau and the Mainland, but 20% believed this measure should be implemented the later the better, and 43% believed that such a measure would impose a negative effect on the economy of Macau. Specifically, 22% said they would visit the Mainland more frequently, around 3 times more than the current frequency on average, while 14% said they would spend less money in Macau, a reduction of about M$640 than their current expenses. Besides, 74% believed that the 24-hour border crossing would attract more Mainlanders to visit Macau and spend money, but 90% said they would not consider moving to Mainland China.

Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Director of Public Opinion Programme, made the following comments on these findings: "Our comparative study has found that Macau people are much more connected to the Mainland than Hong Kong people. Almost all Macau resident visited the Mainland many times each year, mainly for shopping and leisure activities. Hong Kong people, on the other hand, visited the Mainland mainly for touring and sightseeing, followed by shopping and for leisure. Quite a number of them also worked in the Mainland. Such differences are, no doubt, related to the geographic, economic, and life style differences of the two places. Although Macau's handover occurred later than that of Hong Kong, the integration of Macau with Zhuhai is bound to be faster and easier than the integration of Hong Kong with Shenzhen."

With regards the results of the 24-hour border crossing, Dr Fong Man-tat, representing the Union For Construction Of Macau, observed: "(Macau) People generally expressed reservations towards the implementation of the 24-hour border crossing out of their concern to protect the interests of the local community, this is understandable." Fong suggested that the Macau government "should show its people the benefits brought to Macau's development by allowing 24-hour border crossing, in order to eliminate people's worries." Fong urged the government to speed up the implementation of the 24-hour border crossing between Macau and the Mainland, in order to revive Macau's economy.

Contact information and detailed figures of this survey have been published at the POP Site. Shall anyone have any question regarding the research design of the survey, members of the POP Team will be happy to answer them, but we will not further comment on the findings. Shall any person or journalist have any other questions, please email them to <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>. We would answer them as soon as possible. Please note that everything carried in the POP Site does not represent the stand of the University of Hong Kong.