MOP5 mln to promote MSAR in Portugal

The budget allocated to the Macau Tourism Promotion and Information Centre in Portugal to promote the city is at MOP5 million (US$625,000) for this year, according to information provided to Business Daily yesterday by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO).
On Monday, the Official Gazette announced the tenure of this Portuguese arm of MGTO had been extended to June 15, 2019.
“The Centre plays a proactive role in promoting Macau tourism in Portugal and nearby region,” MGTO’s spokesperson explained in an e-mailed reply.
“Over the years, the number of visitor arrivals as well as overnight stays have shown an upward momentum and we believe the efforts of the representative offices have contributed to this achievement.”
Currently, MGTO has three delegations in Lisbon, Beijing and Taipei, as well as 12 other MGTO representatives across three continents.
Asked whether it would establish new representative offices in the future, the Office said it “will follow closely with the trend and development of the source markets and evaluate the need to set up more representative offices in order to attract more diverse visitor sources for Macau.”
Business Daily also enquired into how much the Office disbursed to the Portuguese arm for its activities in the year of 2016 and 2015 but we had not received any reply from the Office before this story went to press.
According to MGTO, the tourism centre is currently co-ordinated by Rodolfo Manuel Baptista Faustino and operates with eight staff members.
Questioned about the centre’s role in the preparation for the upcoming 43rd National Congress of the Portuguese Association of Tourism and Travel Agencies (APAVT) – taking place in Macau from November 23 to November 27 this year – the Office spokesperson said that MGTO and the centre are working closely with the organisers.
“The preparation includes communication and logistics work to ensure a successful APAVT congress in Macau,” the spokesperson said.
According to MGTO, the organisers anticipate that some five hundred tourism operators and travel agents will attend the event.
“The Congress will serve not only as a great opportunity to update the participants about Macau’s new tourism products but also to promote Macao as a multi-destination [site], together with other cities in Mainland China,” the Office representative wrote.
This November will be the fifth time that the MSAR has hosted the event, with the previous one taking place in 2008.