According to provisional data from the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the Philippines ranked fourth in the number of Macau’s visitor arrivals in the first nine months of the year, according to an MGTO statement on Wednesday.
MGTO joined a local tourism delegation to Manila on Tuesday, with the participation of MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, to promote Macau tourism, attract more Philippine tourists, as well as tourists from other Southeast Asian countries, to visit Macau, the statement said.
The delegation was attending a tourism promotion event held by Melco Resorts and Entertainment, themed “Glow Your Way To Macau”.
During the visit, Senna Fernandes introduced Macau’s new tourism landscape and advantages, promoted Macau’s UNESCO-listed Historic Centre and presented Macau as a Creative City of Gastronomy, aiming to encourage the Philippine and Macau tourism sectors to come up with more tourism products for the Philippine market, the statement said.
MGTO is planning to organise a Philippine delegation to visit Macau next month and launch concessions with airlines to expand Macau’s source market in Southeast Asia, as the Philippines is one of Macao’s major international tourist source markets, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) also joined the delegation organised by Melco Resorts and Entertainment, in order to promote the new opportunities brought about by Macau’s exhibition facilities and services, as well as the progressive integration of Macau and Hengqin, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a separate statement by IPIM on Wednesday.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has 10 member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – and most of them have set up direct flights with Macau, the IPIM statement said, adding that ASEAN is an international market with huge potential.
ASEAN business tourists have been coming to Macau to participate in MICE activities, and IPIM expects ASEAN business tourists to become one of the main growth points of Macau’s international exhibitions, the statement said.
IPIM will, according to the statement, continue to promote Macau’s advantages as an exhibition destination, and constantly improve Macau’s image as an international exhibition city, and continue to build a multi-level investment platform through exhibitions held in Macau, creating more business opportunities.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (seventh from left), Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Vincent U U Sang (eighth from right) and other representatives from Macau’s and the Philippine tourism sectors participate in a tourism promotion event held by Melco Resorts and Entertainment in Manila on Tuesday. – Photo by MGTO
