Macau received a record seven PATA Gold Awards 2026, with projects from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and three integrated resort enterprises recognised across marketing, sustainability, social responsibility, and human capital development categories, according to a statement by MGTO yesterday.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Awards are annual international honours that recognise excellence and innovation in the travel and tourism industry across the Asia-Pacific region.
The awards recognise excellence and innovation in the Asia-Pacific tourism industry across areas including marketing, sustainability, and social responsibility, the statement said, noting that winners are selected by an international jury.
The awards were presented during the PATA Gold Awards 2026 gala dinner and presentation ceremony in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, on Tuesday, the statement said, noting that Macau received seven of the 32 awards presented this year, marking a record number of PATA Gold Awards for the city.
According to the statement, MGTO received two awards – POP MART MACAO CITYWALK won the Destination Marketing Campaign (Destination Management Organisation – Asia) award, while CreatorWeek Macao 2025 received the Most Engaging Social Media Campaign award.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment also received two awards, the statement noted, highlighting that “House of Dancing Water Premiere” won in the Marketing Campaign – Hospitality (Hotel, Resort, Management Company) category, while “RISE to Go Above & Beyond” was recognised in the Climate Action Initiative (Industry) category.
Meanwhile, Sands China Limited received two awards, with “Sands China Presents: Dopamine: Fountain of Happiness Artbook” winning in the Printed Marketing Campaign (Industry) category and “Empowering Inclusive Communities: The Sands Shopping Carnival” receiving the Sustainable and Inclusive Marketing Campaign award, the statement added.
Moreover, MGM China received one award in the Human Capital Development Programme category for “Unleashing Greatness – MGM’s Human Capital Development Programme”, the statement said.
Among MGTO’s winning projects, POP MART MACAO CITYWALK ran for 108 days between June and September in Taipa last year, combining Macau’s UNESCO World Heritage status with contemporary “trendy toy” characters, the statement noted, underlining that the campaign attracted more than 723,000 visitors and facilitated 3.64 billion patacas in total e-wallet transactions through the integration of six cross-border e-wallets.
CreatorWeek Macao 2025, which was held last October, brought together creators, platforms, brands, and communities through summits, live performances, and tourism-related experiences, the statement said, underlining that 184 creator groups participated, with content related to the event and Macau generating more than 1.5 billion global impressions and reaching over 2 billion cumulative KOL (Key Opinion Leader) followers.
This handout photo provided by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) yesterday shows Business Tourism and Events Division chief Benjamin Iong (容國源) (second from right) posing with his award alongside MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes (second from left) at the PATA Gold Awards 2026 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, on Tuesday. MGTO did not identify the two other people in the picture.
