The international one-stop tourism service platform — Trip.com Group organized its 2021 Global Partner Summit in Macao today (9 December), joined by over 1,700 global collaborative partners and industry delegates. As a special supporting organization of the Summit, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) leveraged the occasion to promote the diverse travel experiences Macao has to offer across the fields of “tourism +” among summit participants and pertinent media, while manifesting Macao’s strengths as an international MICE travel destination, which helped the city expand its source markets of leisure and business travellers.

International mega travel platform holds Global Partner Summit in Macao

The Trip.com Group 2021 Global Partner Summit (referred to as the “Summit”) being held in Macao speaks to the organizer’s confidence in Macao’s pandemic prevention measures and its recognition for Macao’s destination glamour and capability of MICE facilities.

Held for the first time in Macao, the Summit featured a main forum, four sub-forums and an award ceremony as part of the program. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Lau Wai Meng, MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong, Chief Executive Officer of Trip.com Group, Jane Sun, as well as Chief Marketing Officer of Trip.com Group, Bo Sun, attended the Summit to unveil a new chapter for cooperation in 2022.  

Senna Fernandes expressed in her remarks that the success of the Summit in Macao today indicates that Macao is a safe and quality destination. The event also fuels the synergy of “tourism + MICE” and spotlights Macao’s advantages as a MICE travel destination, inspiring more high-end business travellers to come to Macao for organizing large-scale conferences, which will enrich the dynamic of the world centre of tourism and leisure.

As a guest speaker at one of the sub-forums, Senna Fernandes shared the Office’s relevant experience in destination promotion for Macao under the topic of “How should outbound tourism innovate and evolve after the pandemic”.

Trip.com Group 2021 Global Partner Summit Award Ceremony was held tonight (9 December). The “Destination of the year” award was bestowed upon Macao and presented to MGTO Director Senna Fernandes at the ceremony.

Visit of summit guests boosts spending in Macao

During their stay in Macao, summit guests and Mainland media will explore the city for a firsthand experience of Macao’s diverse tourism elements, which will help advance destination promotion.

Trip.com Group has been supportive to Macao’s various measures to bolster the tourism industry and economy. For instance, the company offered training for Macao’s tourism enterprises in transformation and advancement towards digitalization and increased the Macao Weeks’ exposure in the official live streams of Trip.com, which played a key enhancer in reviving Macao’s tourism and economy and unveiling a wide horizon of business opportunities. MGTO launched its Star Hub Flagship Store on Ctrip this year to showcase a broad confluence of Macao’s travel information and travel products to reinforce the city’s image as a destination with diverse travel experiences to offer across the Mainland market, supporting Macao’s travel trade to tap into the far-reaching impact of online promotional channels.

In the first half of 2021, the number of orders placed for Macao tourism products on Trip.com surged by 244% year on year, while the number of consumers involved increased by 150% compared with the second half of 2020. The count of search for the keyword “Macao” also rose by 216% year on year.

“Trip.com Group has maintained a close collaborative relationship with MGTO and Macao’s travel trade, with remarkable records achieved during the pandemic. We keenly look forward to closer and more diverse cooperation to unfold between us in 2022,” said Chief Executive Officer of Trip.com Group, Jane Sun. 

MGTO will keep raising Macao’s profile as a safe and quality destination via various online and offline channels, along with the dedication to push forward concerted development between tourism and other industries, deepen integration across “tourism + MICE” and other fields, and expand the spectrum of visitor source. The efforts are poured to propel tourism and economic recovery as well as adequate diversification of Macao’s economy.