Since Macao lifted travel restrictions, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has been progressively restarting various international collaborations and exchange. This year, MGTO once again invites the representatives and chefs from 23 UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy including Macao for familiarization, exchange and culinary demonstrations to the public. They are also invited to participate in the City of Gastronomy Meeting and visit local wet markets, distinctive bazaars and tourist attractions, leveraging Macao as a platform to foster preservation, innovation and exchange between Creative Cities of Gastronomy as well as their sustainable development.
Diverse showcase of Cities of Gastronomy
The representatives and chefs from 23 UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy will join the City of Gastronomy Showcase at the 11th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (“MITE” or the “Expo”). Organized by MGTO and co-organized by the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, this activity is one of the major highlights at the Expo and also MGTO’s first large-scale international gastronomic exchange after the pandemic.
Chefs will take turn to manifest culinary arts at 24 sessions of culinary showcase in total for three days from 30 June to 2 July. After each cooking show, audience will have a chance to sample the culinary delights prepared by chefs, a taste of fascinating gastronomic culture from different cities.
To promote Macao’s glamorous dynamic as a Creative City of Gastronomy, the Expo also features the Gastronomic Pavilion and The Cellar as a new highlight, where visitors can enjoy different wine and local delicacies.
Joint pursuit of new cooperation opportunities
The representatives of Cities of Gastronomy will attend an internal meeting on 1 July to contribute suggestions, exchange ideas and explore new opportunities for cooperation on the work to foster the development of the Creative Cities of Gastronomy with other member cities through both online and offline formats. The representatives and chefs of the Creative Cities of Gastronomy will also take the opportunity to visit local wet markets and distinctive bazaars, experience the traditional fishing culture and explore the World Heritage – Historic Centre of Macao, for a more profound experience of Macao’s gastronomic culture and “tourism +”.
Macao was officially designated as a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO in October 2017. MGTO organized the “International Gastronomy Forum, Macao” in 2016, 2018 and 2019 to provide an exchange platform for Creative Cities from around the world. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts. At present, there are a total of 49 Creative Cities of Gastronomy from 30 countries in UCCN, including five Chinese cities namely Chengdu, Shunde, Macao, Yangzhou and Huai’an.
