The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and local travel trade are participating in the Arabian Travel Market 2025, held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from today (28 April) until 1 May, to expand the Middle East market and attract more high-end international visitors.

MGTO set up a booth at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the largest international travel trade show held annually in the Middle East. Under the theme “Experience Macao”, the booth is promoting the destination’s “tourism +” appeal along with Muslim-friendly initiatives like the publication of the new Macao for Muslim Travelers – Halal Travel Guide, being distributed at the event. Representatives from six Macao travel agencies and hotels are also joining the promotion to conduct business contacts with peers from the Middle East and other regions.

More initiatives to attract high-end visitors from the Middle East

The promotion comes after MGTO led a Macao travel trade delegation in February this year to Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, and Dubai where it conducted a “Macao Tourism + MICE Product Updates Seminar & Travel Mart”, aiming to enhance cooperation with travel trade in the two regions and boost high-end leisure and business visitor arrivals. Meanwhile, MGTO also invited 12 hosted buyers from four Middle East countries to attend the 13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE), held 25 to 27 April.

Upcoming initiatives targeting the Middle East market include a familiarization visit to Macao for tourism industry professionals in June and another one for media in September, while MGTO continues to conduct promotion targeting the region in Arabic on social media and other platforms, among other activities to increase visitor flows to the city from the region.

Tap into the potential of the vast Muslim tourism market

Efforts are also ongoing to transform Macao into a Muslim-friendly destination to attract more visitors from the Middle East, as well as from Macao’s top visitor source markets, namely several regions of Mainland China, along with the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The latest major initiative was a Halal Horizons Pavilion featuring as one of the new highlights of the 13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE). The pavilion brought together halal enterprises from the Mainland and Macao for a showcase of cuisine, souvenirs, and wellness certified products, with a simulated prayer room according to the Islamic standards set up on site. The CrescentRating Certified: Muslim-Friendly Hotel Grading Seminar was also held during MITE to help boost preparation across the tourism industry in Macao. Meanwhile, MGTO continues to conduct regular trainings and other activities to familiarize tourism personnel with Muslim customers’ needs as part of the work to diversify visitor source markets.