This year, the Idea-cation 2024 competition, organised by the Macao University of Tourism with the Macao Jiangmen Youth Association (澳門江門青年會) acting as a support unit, continues its mission to stimulate creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial thinking. The goal is to use tourism as a tool for regional development, economic diversity, and rural revitalisation.

The competition is categorised into “High School” and “Open” Categories, aiming to broaden the perspectives of teenagers, university students, and professionals about the role of the tourism industry in enhancing community well-being through regional development.

Participants can choose from two tracks to apply their innovative ideas. The first track focuses on Macao’s “1+4” strategy for appropriate economic diversification, while the second targets the rural revitalisation strategy, particularly focusing on how rural tourism initiatives were advanced in Tangkou Town (located in Kaiping City, Jiangmen in Guangdong Province) to foster the “Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Project”. The project is a paramount endeavor of Guangdong to propel high-quality development throughout the province.

Before the final event on 10 November in 2024, where teams will pitch their ideas to experienced judges, 100 participants travelled to Tangkou Town in October for a two-day field trip. They visited various unique villages and rural revitalisation projects where they participated in activities such as exploring the local leisure and creative industries, outdoors banquet, enjoying local cuisine, engaging in music events, and staying overnight in newly developed village hostels.

During the visit, local government representatives, including the United Front Work Department of the CPC Jiangmen Municipal Committee, People's Government of Tangkou Town, Kaiping City, and Jiangmen Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau, as well as representative from Macao Jiangmen Youth Association, gave in-depth introductions to the participants, highlighting the uniqueness and importance of tourism in the region.

This visit allowed participants to explore unique areas situated in the Greater Bay Area, understand its diverse features, and discover what rural tourism can offer. In the coming weeks, teams will meet with industry and academic mentors who will provide valuable feedback to help them prepare for their final presentations in November.