The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) and the Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies (APAVT from the Portuguese acronym) presented today at a press conference the preparations for the 34^th National Congress of APAVT due to open in Macau this coming Sunday and running until December 4^th.

 

MGTO Director, João Manuel Costa Antunes, told reporters that he hopes the event will help to draw more tourists from Portugal to Macau. "Our commitment in hosting the APAVT Congress comes in line with our promotional strategy to show the new reality of Macau to Portuguese tour operators, and also bearing in mind the celebrations next year of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Macau SAR," he noted. "Macau will also be privileged destination, as International Guest Destination, in Lisbon Travel Market 2009, to be held in January," Costa Antunes added.

 

"We hope that these high profile events will help to attract more Portuguese tourists to Macau, " MGTO Director pointed out.

 

APAVT secretary-general, Filipe Machado Santos, and APAVT Media Adviser, Paulo Brehm also briefed the media about the program and key speakers of the Congress, this year under the theme "Tourism: New Markets, New Opportunities".

 

Around 500 participants are expected for the event, including heads of Portuguese travel agencies and other tourism related entities, like hotels, transport companies, as well as the media, among others. The event will feature a high level portfolio of participants. Chief Executive of the Macau SAR, Edmund Ho, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Chui Sai On, among other important personalities from the Macau SAR will grace the event. The Portuguese State Secretary for Tourism, Bernardo Trindade, and former President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, are also among the guests of honour, along with the president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, Jean-Claude Baumgarten, among other individualities. Heads of government tourism entities and tour operators from various Mainland China provinces will also attend the APAVT Congress.

 

The program of the event includes a Macau/China/Portugal Workshop for a general presentation of the different destinations. The workshop will be followed by a travel mart between Portuguese tour operators and their Macau and Mainland China counterparts. Participants of the Congress will also have the opportunity to visit the main tourism attractions and new tourism developments of the city. The Congress will be hosted at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. A special fireworks display will celebrate the opening of the Congress, taking place at around 21:00 in front of the Macau Tower, for about fifteen minutes.

 

The National Congress of APAVT is a main highlight in the annual agenda of the Portuguese tourism industry. APAVT is the most representative association of Portuguese tourism, and since its foundation in 1950 has played a fundamental role in the development of tourism in Portugal. This is the fourth time that APAVT has chosen Macau to host its annual national congress, after 1982, 1990 and 1996, and the first after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region.