The 15th IFTM-UNWTO Training Programme, this year themed “Leveraging the Meetings Industry and Gastronomy to Champion the Agenda of Sustainable Tourism Development”, kicked off yesterday at MGM COTAI, marking the first face-to-face training after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The six-day programme, a collaboration between the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies' (IFTM) Global Centre of Tourism Education and Training and Madrid-based UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation), is the latest edition in their partnership, which began in 2016.
An IFTM statement provided yesterday noted that the programme is tailored for the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries’ sub-regional context and aims to provide participants with “an in-depth understanding of the meetings industry and gastronomy tourism, to promote sustainable planning practices and facilitate destination branding”.
Addressing the attendees of yesterday’s opening ceremony, IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan said that the programme’s goals are to support tourism officials and professionals from around the world in enhancing their knowledge and capabilities.
“Through a comprehensive mix of lectures, discussions, debates, and presentations, the 15th IFTM-UNWTO Training Programme will provide a dynamic platform for sharing insights on, and experiences of, the role of the meetings industry and the gastronomy sector in promoting sustainable tourism development”, she pointed out.
She added that Macau is a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and received the “Best Convention City in Asia” title last month at the M&C Asia Stella awards 2023, making it an ideal place for the training.
The programme is held in conjunction with the Global Tourism Economic Forum (GTEF), which starts tomorrow, and will have participants taking part in discussions on a slew of topics by IFTM scholars and invited local and international experts. Its participants comprise government management-level officials from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as industry practitioners and tertiary education professionals from the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
IFTM President Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan delivers a speech during yesterday’s opening ceremony for the 15th IFTM-UNWTO Training Programme.
– Photo: Rui Pastorin
