MGTO leads a travel trade delegation to Malaysia and organizes “Macao Tourism + MICE Product Updates Seminar & Travel Mart”
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) hosted the “Macao Tourism + MICE Product Updates Seminar & Travel Mart”in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (22 May), to foster exchange between tourism operators from Macao and Malaysia, unveil business opportunities in the Southeast Asian market and tap into international visitor markets.
In her speech, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes remarked that the new course Macao is charting as a world centre of tourism and leisure, towards diversification of visitor sources markets and “tourism +” offerings, brings more opportunities for the travel trade from both sides to collaborate in driving greater visitor flows from Malaysia and around the world. Macao is dedicated to transformation into a stellar travel destination that are Muslim-friendly as well, to attract Muslim and global travelers from around the world. Statistics shows that Malaysian visitors’ interest in Macao is constantly increasing. By April, arrivals from Malaysia to Macao already reached over 80% of those in the same period of 2019. MGTO continues to carry out online and offline promotion and special travel offers, promoting Macao as an ideal short-haul destination for Malaysian travelers to expand its international visitor markets.
At the Seminar, MGTO presented to Malaysian industry participants an update on Macao’s new tourist attractions, diverse distinctive resources and events, with an emphasis on Muslim-friendly travel in Macao. Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the six integrated resort enterprises presented Macao’s new MICE trends and their tourism services respectively. A travel mart then engaged industry delegates from Macao and Malaysia, who connected and explored business opportunities. They together designed new tour routes and products in Macao, to energize locals’ interest in visiting Macao during summer holidays and the latter half of this year.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, President of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), Nigel Wong Chun Teim, Deputy President of Malaysia Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA), Cynthia Tan, and Manager of Investment Promotion Division of IPIM, Stephanie U, attended the Seminar among nearly 100 industry participants from Macao and Malaysia.
Malaysian KOLs taste Macao’s delights
Prior to the Seminar, MGTO partnered with FAT TEA, a Macanese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, to present Macao’s culinary delights and popular attractions to 13 Malaysian KOLs, leveraging their influence to spotlight Macao’s image and glamour as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and World Centre of Tourism and Leisure among Malaysians.
Strategic promotions targeting Malaysian market
Since Macao’s lifting of border restrictions in 2023, MGTO has been actively pursuing the Malaysian visitor market through different ways, including participating in different large travel fairs in 2023, inviting Malaysian KOLs to Macao for filming of promotional videos, as well as organizing trade delegation visits to Macao for an experience of local tourism resources. In 2023 and 2024, MGTO organized roadshows and updates seminars for the travel trade, branding the destination among local residents and tourism businesses while fostering business cooperation. This year, promotions are rolled out on different media platforms. Among them, the program 1-2-3 Go Macao is produced in collaboration with 8TV, a Malaysian Chinese-language television network. The Office also partners with a Muslim KOL to spotlight Salam Macao on the platform of iQIYI.
Provisional figures show that Malaysia ranks as Macao’s fourth largest international visitor market and seventh largest visitor market, which bespeaks its vast market potential.
Last month, Macao was featured as “International Favorite Destination” at Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair 2025. The Office continues to join other major international travel fairs in Malaysia this year. Plans are underway to unfold a mega roadshow in Kuala Lumpur, as part of the Office’s efforts to capitalize on different opportunities to widen Macao’s reach into Malaysia and Southeast Asian markets through promotional measures.
