Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) held travel marts in two big cities in Korea and once again launched the "Macau Tourism Product Promotion Scheme" to encourage cooperation between Macau and Korean travel trade. MGTO organized the annual "Macau･Korea Travel Mart" in Seoul and Busan, Korea on April 23 and 25 respectively. The office introduced the "Macau Tourism Product Promotion Scheme" again to foster active participation and cooperation among the trade. The Korean trade delegates who attended the travel marts may get sponsored for promoting brand-new Macau tourism products in the market. The first travel mart attracted about 130 trade representatives from Seoul who negotiated business opportunities directly with around 20 delegates from Macau hotels, airline and travel agencies, providing an effective platform for exchange and collaboration between Macau and Korean travel industry partners. MGTO hosted a dinner for Seoul's trade delegates on April 23 and invited the Executive Vice President for Marketing of Korea Tourism Organization, Shim Jeong Bo and the Chairman of Korea Association of General Travel Agents (KATA), Yang Moo Seong to the dinner as well. During the function, MGTO Deputy Director Manuel Pires thanked the Korean trade partners for their great support to Macau tourism industry and expressed wishes for Macau to enhance cooperation with Korean tourism partners. He stated that the number of Korean visitor arrivals in Macau approximated 440,000 last year, a year-on-year increase of 11.5%. Benefiting from the daily direct flights between Macau and Seoul as well as the new direct flight to Busan inaugurated last year, Korea has risen as the largest international tourism market for Macau. MGTO has held the "Macau･Korea Travel Mart" in Seoul and Busan annually since 2009 for five consecutive years. The office also organized a Korean trade familiarization group to visit Macau last October and held the first similar travel mart in Macau, providing abundant opportunities for networking and cooperation between Macau and Korean trade partners.
