The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) attended the 61st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting in the Philippines last Wednesday and Thursday on behalf of Macau as the event’s “Guest Economy”, MGTO said in a recent statement.
Macau was granted the “Guest Economy” status in the APEC Tourism Working Group in 2001, with MGTO and DSEDT regularly attending the meetings, according to the statement. They also participated in the meetings online throughout the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years.
Last week’s meeting was held in Iloilo City in an online-offline format, the statement noted, with MGTO Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng and a DSEDT delegate attending the two-day programme, which held discussions on plans and the exchange of information, among others.
Representatives of international tourism organisations and guest economies presented updates on the second day. The statement said that Hoi presented an overview of Macau’s tourism situation, the government’s development strategy of “1+4” for appropriate diversification, and major tasks to revive Macau’s tourism industry and economy this year.
According to the 1+4 model, the local government will consolidate the development of the city’s tourism and leisure industry while putting special emphasis on promoting the development of four new key industries, namely 1) big health, 2) modern finance, 3) high-tech, and 4) conventions and exhibitions as well as culture and sports.
Through its participation, the statement added, MGTO exchanged the latest updates on the tourism industry with other attending economies, learnt about TWG’s new activities and had discussions on TWG’s work plans to “deepen Macau’s involvement in international tourism organisations”.
The APEC TWG was formed in 1991 for APEC economies’ tourism administrators, being a platform that supports cooperation and development of different destinations in tourism and trade, the statement noted.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) headquartered in Singapore is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Unlike the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Macau is not an APEC member but participates in some of its working groups.
This undated handout photo recently provided by MGTO shows its Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng (second from left) presenting an overview of Macau’s tourism situation during the 61st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group (TWG).
