The 34th National Congress of The Portuguese Association of Travel Agencies (APAVT) was unveiled today (Nov 30) at a ceremony officiated by the Chief Executive of the Macau SAR, Edmund Ho.

Guests participating in the opening ceremony also included Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Chui Sai On, Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, Bernardo Trindade, former President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President of APAVT Congress João Passos, Chairman of Turismo de Portugal, Luís Patrão, Director of Macau Government Tourist Office João Manuel Costa Antunes as well as heads of government tourism entities from various Mainland China provinces. The congress ends on Thursday.

The Congress this year, under the theme "Tourism: New Markets, New Opportunities", has invited President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Jean-Claude Baumgarten as keynote speaker for the forum on December 1. Jean-Claude Baumgarten has 28 years of senior managerial experience in the aviation industry and has supervised operations in the Southeast and Northeast regions of Asia. Other speakers include Peter Villax, Managing Director of Hovione, Yao Yuecan, Chairman of the Board of CITS Limited, Head Office and Pansy Ho, Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings Limited and  MGM Grand Paradise Limited.

The Congress will be hosted at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. A special fireworks display celebrating the opening of the Congress will take place at 21:00 in front of the venue.

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 media, in addition to travel trade members from various Mainland China provinces and Macau.

The program of the APAVT Congress includes a Macau, Mainland China and 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. 

MGTO believes that the hosting of the APAVT Congress in Macau reinforces with its promotional strategy to show the new Macau to Portuguese tour operators, and attract more visitors from Portugal to Macau, especially for the celebrations next year of the tenth anniversary of the establisment of the Macau SAR.  Macau has also been invited to be the "International Guest Destination" at the Lisbon Travel Market 2009 to be held next January.

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.