Portuguese travel & tourism group’s ‘National Congress 2025’ to be held in Macau

The National Congress of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) 2025 is slated to be held in Macau, according to a statement from the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) last week.

The statement noted that the announcement was made on Friday during the three-day 11^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE), which concluded on Sunday, and had a “stronger participation” from Portugal. The APAVT joined the expo with a delegation of nearly 20 people, which included travel trade and tourism media, according to the statement.

MGTO Director Maria Helena Senna Fernandes was quoted in the statement as saying: “We are glad to see the largest participation from Portugal ever at the Travel Expo this year and the expectation of welcoming hundreds of Portuguese travel trade members for the congress provides tremendous impetus to our collaborative work to boost visitor flows.”

The statement added that the congress is considered the Portuguese tourism industry’s main annual gathering and is set to provide “an opportunity to showcase Macau’s new ‘tourism+’ offerings and help to boost the diversification of visitor source markets”.

APAVT President Pedro Costa Ferreira was quoted in the statement as saying that the congress “will bring a string of very fortunate numbers”. The upcoming event will also be the association’s 50^th congress and is set to be held during the year when the APAVT celebrates its 75^th anniversary.

“It will make Macau the city that hosted our congress the most times, six in total, in a history of 50 years of the event”, Costa Ferreira added.

The APAVT was established in 1950 and is “the most representative association of the Portuguese tourism industry”, the statement said, and has played “a fundamental role in boosting tourism relations with Macau”. The association held its annual congress in the city in 1982, 1990, 1996, 2008 and 2017. It attracts around 700 delegates each year, the statement said. 

This handout photo provided by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Friday shows APAVT President Pedro Costa Ferreira announcing earlier that day at the 11th MITE at the Venetian in Cotai that the national congress of the Portuguese travel and tourism association will be held in Macau in 2025.