The three-day PATA Annual Summit 2024, themed “Reimaging Tourism”, kicked off yesterday at the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau in Cotai, and Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes said in opening remarks that the event offered an “invaluable” opportunity to provide delegates with an update about the new dynamics of Macau as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure after the three-year-long COVID-19 pandemic.
Senna Fernandes also said that the local tourism industry’s recovery was in “full swing”, with Macau’s visitor arrivals in the first four months of this year surpassing 11.4 million, corresponding to a recovery rate of 83 percent compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
Having been a member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) since 1958, MGTO is hosting, in conjunction with SJM Resorts, for the first time, the PATA Annual Summit in Macau, having gathered around 400 tourism industry delegates from about 30 regions and countries in the Asia Pacific region for board meetings, networking sessions, destination experiences and youth symposiums, along with the main conference.
The PATA delegation is scheduled to stay in Macau for four days, and tomorrow, the summit’s last day, the delegates will go on a self-paying tour of Hengqin and Hong Kong, according to the PATA official website.
Macau hosted the PATA Travel Marts in 2010 and 2017, as well as the PATA Annual Conference in 2005.
Delivering a speech on behalf of Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, Senna Fernandes said that Macau was embracing a new era of leveraging its integrated tourism and leisure industry in order to create synergies to diversify its economy, in line with the local government’s five-year Development Plan for Appropriate Economic Diversification.
She said that Macau is taking its “1+4” diversified development strategy for the tourism and leisure industry as the lead, i.e., “1”, while promoting the development of “4” emerging industries – health and wellness; modern financial services; innovative technology; and exhibitions and conventions, commerce and trade, and culture and sport, as well as calling for Macau’s six integrated resorts (IR) to play a bigger role in fostering the sustainable and diversified development of the economy, working to develop non-gaming sectors and explore overseas markets.
This year marks PATA’s first summit since the pandemic hit, and PATA Chair Peter Semone said during the opening ceremony: “This year’s event only reaffirms our enduring partnership and collaboration in promoting the responsible and sustainable development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region and beyond,” quoting the summit’s theme of “Reimagining Tourism” as emphasising the involvement of a fundamental shift in transforming the entire tourism industry to be “more sustainable, responsible and inclusive” by incorporating principles of ecotourism and sustainable development, promoting cultural exchanges and understanding and leveraging technology for more immersive and accessible experiences, and prioritising the well-being of local communities and environments over sheer economic gains.
As the summit’s co-host, SJM Managing Director Daisy Ho Chiu-fung said she expected the summit to enable its participants to experience Macau’s warmth and hospitality, become the city’s “ambassadors” and encourage their visitors to discover Macau’s “multi-positive allure”, pledging in her speech that by pivoting its emphasis towards quality, authentic experiences, and thoughtful hospitality, SJM would continue to be on “a mission to bring about a new brand of sustainable luxury as a vital step towards a more responsible way to explore the world……. aiming to weave prosperity through every layer of our community, driving growth across diverse sectors, making sure that, as Macau grows, no one is left behind”.
Meanwhile, after the opening ceremony, Senna Fernades also took part in a panel discussion titled Marketing and Branding in Asia Pacific Tourism, where she, as well as Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Dane Cheng Ting-yat, Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation CEO & Managing Director Fathmath Thaufeeq, and Guam Visitors Bureau Vice President Gerry Perez explained their respective marketing strategies and discussed current trends in promoting travel and tourism throughout the Asia Pacific region, as well as their points of view about branding techniques that resonate with diverse audiences.
Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (centre), MGTO Deputy Director Ricky Hoi Io Meng (left), SJM Resorts Managing Director Daisy Ho Chiu-fung (third from left), PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Chair Peter Semone (third from right), Secretary and Treasurer of PATA Suman Pandey (second from left), PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid (second from right) and PATA Macau Chapter Vice President Eric Fong Hio Kin pose during yesterday’s opening ceremony of the PATA Annual Summit 2024 at the Grand Lisboa Palace Macau in Cotai. – Photo: Yuki Lei
