Congress in Macao promoted by APAVT on the association’s website
The 50th National Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) will be held in Macao 1 to 5 December, gathering around 800 delegates. Macao will take the opportunity to provide a firsthand update to the Portuguese travel trade about the new dynamic development of Macao as a world centre of tourism and leisure and showcase the city’s singular advantages as an international platform, helping to expand international visitor source markets.
Keynote presentations on tourism and innovation
Considered the main annual forum of the Portuguese tourism industry, this edition of the Congress of APAVT, hosted by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and co-hosted by Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), will be held at the Galaxy International Convention Center.
Under the theme “75 Years Looking to the Future”, the 50th Congress of APAVT will officially open on 2 December morning, unveiling three days of keynote presentations and discussion sessions. The list of around 20 speakers includes the Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services of Portugal, Pedro Machado, the Secretary of State for Infrastructure of Portugal, Hugo Espírito Santo, along with the President of APAVT, Pedro Costa Ferreira, the President of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA), Frank Oostdam, among other public and private sector experts in tourism and innovation. MGTO Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, and the Director of GEG, Philip Cheng, will also speak to the delegates.
Return of important Portuguese tourism industry meeting provides update on latest “tourism +”
Marking this year its seventy-fifth anniversary, as the most representative association of the Portuguese tourism industry APAVT has played over the years a fundamental role in enhancing tourism cooperation between Portugal and Macao. This will be the sixth time the congress is held in Macao, after 1982, 1990, 1996, 2008 and 2017, providing to the delegates from the Portuguese tourism industry, an experience of the city’s new hotels and meeting venues, residency shows, gastronomy, and more, to feel the potential and appeal of the destination’s “tourism +” offerings.
Explore multi-destination itineraries at China-Portugal session
The congress will allow Macao to play its role as a platform, with one of the highlights of the program of the congress being a China-Portugal session on 3 December afternoon. Following a destination promotion presentation from Tourism of Portugal about the country’s attractions, travel agents and other travel trade from Macao, Mainland China, and Portugal will conduct business contacts.
Delegates to the congress will also be able to join a post-event familiarization visit to Hengqin, as well as participate in tours organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China to Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Guiyang, allowing them to further experience the potential of cooperating to develop multi-destination itineraries including Macao and Chinese mainland destinations targeting Portuguese travelers.
Cooperation to drive visitor flows from Portugal and Europe
The congress is the culmination of a series of works conducted in partnership with APAVT, as part of MGTO’s efforts to drive more visitor flows from Portugal. A wide array of destination promotion and education initiatives targeting the Portuguese travel trade, like an online training, organization of trade and media familiarization visits during the Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo, among others, have been jointly conducted, with more planned for next year, to keep on raising the profile of the city and expanding visitor source markets.
Following the successful hosting in June of the ECTAA 2025 Macao Summit, with the APAVT Congress 2025 a double annual meetings synergistic effect is created, helping the city to continue to explore the European market and expand the international visitor source markets to enhance tourism and economic diversification.