Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) works with an unyielding commitment to diversifying visitor source markets for Macao. To help members of the travel trade build expertise in tending visitors from different cultures, the Office held an Islamic Culture in Tourism Workshop today (15 March) for tourism industry personnel to advance professional growth and gain competitive strengths. Their enhancement will upgrade tourism service quality at large and reinforce the positive destination image, as the city progresses towards tourism market diversification.

Imam of Islamic Association of Macau, Ding Shao Jie, is the key speaker at the workshop. Employees of hotels, catering establishments and travel agencies as well as tour guides in the work force keenly participated in the workshop, attended also by Deputy Director of MGTO, Cheng Wai Tong. Many signed up for the workshop and filled the quota before the deadline.

The workshop presented an overview of the Islamic faith exemplified by Abraham, as well as the religious rituals, festivals, customs and cultural characteristics of Islam. Industry participants were introduced to the norms and concerns in serving Islamic visitors. Through the richly informative and practical workshop, the Office seeks to familiarize travel industry personnel with the religion of Islam so that they can provide more thoughtful services that suit the needs of Islamic visitors. 

MGTO strives to enhance service quality in the tourism industry by organizing online and offline training opportunities. To cater for the demand, the Office will continue to organize workshops and training courses addressing cross-cultural and barrier-free tourism such that industry professionals can advance their hospitality knowledge and skills in receiving different travelers from a diversity of international market segments, to steer sustainable tourism development forward.