Guests preside over the opening of the 50th APAVT Congress in Macao
The opening ceremony of the 50th Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) was held this morning (2 December) in Macao. The return of this important annual meeting of the Portuguese tourism industry to the Macao SAR, will provide to the delegates an update about the lasted developments as a world centre of tourism and leisure along with the city’s singular advantages as an international platform, helping to expand international visitor source markets and foster the diversified development of the tourism and economy.
Presiding over the opening ceremony, held at the Galaxy International Convention Center, was the representative of the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR Government and Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services of Portugal, Pedro Machado, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure of Portugal, Hugo Espírito Santo, the Consul General of Portugal in Macao, Alexandre Leitão, the President of APAVT, Pedro Costa Ferreira, the President of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation, Francisco Calheiros, and the Director of Corporate Affairs of Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), Buddy Lam. The event attracted around 1,000 representatives from tourism industry and media from nearer and afar.
“One centre, one platform” advantages to help Macao-Portugal tourism industry development
Speaking at the occasion, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes welcomed the delegates of the congress to the city, highlighting that Macao’s developmental positioning as “one centre, one platform” creates a framework for relations with the Portuguese tourism industry to continue evolving in the new era. She invited the Portuguese travel trade to fully experience the destination’s tourism offerings during the congress and to explore partnership opportunities with the travel trade from Macao and the Chinese mainland to expand multi-destination travel.
Pedro Costa Ferreira noted in his speech that APAVT could hardly find a better setting to celebrate its 75th anniversary and look towards the future than Macao—this city, that is as vibrant as it is safe, where East and West have always met, serving as a showcase of a marvelous new world, a fantastic example of a service culture and respect for consumers, a solid model of economic development, and a gateway to the world’s largest outbound market.
The Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal, and the President of the Portuguese Tourism Confederation also spoke at the occasion, which was followed by a keynote presentation from the President of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations, Frank Oostdam, on a sustainable future and the global recovery of the tourism industry.
Experience new “tourism +” and explore multi-destination potential
Hosted by MGTO and co-hosted by GEG, the 50th Congress of APAVT runs under the theme “75 Years Looking to the Future”. The program of the congress includes three days of keynote presentations and discussion sessions delivered by around 20 public and private sector experts to zoom in on hot issues of the Portuguese tourism industry, the impact of IA, among others. Portuguese travel trade will also have the opportunity to conduct business contacts with Macao and Chinese mainland counterparts at a China-Portugal Networking session tomorrow (3 December).
Another important part of the meeting is providing to the Portuguese travel trade an update about the appeal of Macao’s “tourism +” offerings and multi-destination travel potential. Aside from experiencing some of the city’s latest tourism infrastructures and residency shows, there is also a post-event familiarization visit to the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, as well as tours organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China to Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Guiyang, to allow delegates to sense the potential to jointly develop multi-destination itineraries targeting Portuguese travelers.
The return of the congress to Macao is the culmination of a series of works conducted in partnership with APAVT, as part of MGTO’s efforts to keep on raising the profile of the city and drive more visitor flows from Portugal and Europe. This is the sixth time the APAVT Congress is held in Macao in more than four decades, the most recent edition being in 2017.
