Government-licensed outdoor seating facilities run by restaurants or other types of food and beverage establishments on pavements or pedestrian-only areas can stay open until 10:00 p.m. – effective from today – an extension of operating hours by one hour, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) announced yesterday.
An IAM statement yesterday said that the new measure aims to provide a more favourable business environment for night-time consumption, creating better conditions for revitalising Macau’s night economy.
The statement said that the bureau decided to extend the outdoor seating facilities’ operating hours by one hour after gathering feedback from the restaurant sector and the relevant public entities, while taking into account the potential impacts on residents’ daily lives in the neighbourhoods.
After stopping the granting of outdoor seating licences in 2009, the bureau resumed accepting applications by food and beverage establishments for outdoor seating licences – also known as pavement or sidewalk licences – in August last year.
Outdoor seating facilities provided by restaurants, cafés, and bars are also known as terraces.
Before relaunching the outdoor seating application scheme in August last year, the bureau drafted new application requirements and operational rules after reviewing past practices of the scheme.
According to the new operational rules, loudspeakers and other sound devices are barred at outdoor seating facilities. The operators must also comply with the relevant provisions listed in the Environmental Noise Prevention and Control Law.
Outdoor seating operators must also maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the respective areas and surrounding spaces, conduct daily cleaning, and properly remove stains and items after closing.
Hitherto, the outdoor seating facilities could be open between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. daily. From today, they – as announced by the bureau yesterday – can be open between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. daily.
Before the bureau resumed accepting applications in the middle of August last year, there were only about 20 restaurants, cafés, and bars allowed to run outdoor seating, according to local media reports at that time.
As of Monday this week, according to the IAM website, there were 72 restaurants and other types of food and beverage establishments in the city licensed to operate outdoor seating facilities.
Yesterday’s statement also said that as of yesterday evening, the bureau had issued 58 new outdoor seating licences since the scheme’s relaunch in August last year. The number of valid outdoor seating licences has increased by over 300 percent from the number before the scheme was relaunched, the statement said.
The statement underlined that businesses and members of the public generally agree that outdoor seating helps improve Macau’s business environment, brings new opportunities for SMEs, provides customers with a fresh dining experience, and plays an important role in promoting the city’s appropriate economic diversification.
This undated file photo shows restaurant outdoor seating in Zape. – Photo courtesy of TDM
