Seizing the opportunity from the mega tourism promotion “Experience Macao Unlimited – Macao Promotion in Lisbon”, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) arranged a delegation of Macao’s travel trade to visit Portugal for a first-hand inspection of Portuguese tourism resources and the latest travel trends, with the hope that industry operators can get well prepared to welcome more international travelers and optimize tourism services in Macao.

Inspect tourism project’s latest progress

The delegation of Macao’s travel trade set off from Lisbon, Portugal on 20 April (local time) to visit famous attractions including Sintra village, Sintra National Palace and Cabo da Roca. They also sampled signature culinary delights there to grasp a better picture of Portuguese gastronomic culture. In the afternoon, the trade delegation joined the Macao trade and commerce delegation to visit the maritime tourism project at Cascais Marina for its latest progress.

Learn about travel trends to tap the potential of international visitor markets

Macao’s travel trade delegates hoped to seize this opportunity to learn more about the latest tourism development overseas. Following the city’s lifting of travel restrictions, international visitor arrivals have been showing a steady rebound in Macao. The Portuguese tourism industry possesses different valuable aspects that are worth learning from. Some of the trade delegates expressed that their visit could offer them a window onto tourism recovery in Portugal and a chance to connect with their Portuguese counterparts. Both parties have reached a consensus that Portugal can function significantly as a gateway that draws overseas travelers from Europe to Macao and more extensively, to the Greater Bay Area. Others stated that through the visit, they could observe the travel habits of international visitors, such as the post-pandemic diversification of visitor market segments and young travelers’ love to take photos for social media check-in. These are elements awaiting the travel trade to discover in the future as they strive to deepen visitors’ quality travel experiences in Macao.

Macao and Portuguese industry operators expand tourism cooperation

In addition, MGTO led the Macao trade delegation to participate in the “Macao — Portugal investment and tourism presentation seminar” in Lisbon the day before for industry participants from both sides to share their latest tourism situation, tap into business opportunities and widen tourism cooperation between Macao and Portugal. The trade delegation also attended the press conference co-held by the Secretariat of Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)in Lisbon today (21 April) to witness their advancement of cooperation, which is set to unveil new chapters of global collaboration in the post-pandemic era.