54th PATA Annual Conference – Macau Host Committee General Meeting

The 54th PATA Annual Conference – Macau Host Committee General Meeting was held this morning (6 April) at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Dr Chui Sai-On, Secretary for Social Affairs & Culture, Government of Macau SAR, and Chairman of the PAC05 Macau Host Committee spoke at the meeting that Macau will for its first time be the host of the PATA Annual Conference and it should grasp this valuable opportunity to gain the experience of hosting and organizing a large scale international conference and to strive for better achievements over the good foundation laid in the past. Dr Chui said the Macau Government Tourist Office has been a PATA member since 1966 and has always been active in promoting the tourism industry of Macau and in the pursuit of Macau to be the host of the PATA Annual Conference. He stated that this PATA Annual Conference will offer Macau a good chance to demonstrate its overall ability to accommodate large scale conventions. He also mentioned that Macau could gain more experience to opt for a better result over that of the good foundation laid in the past. Engineer Joao Manuel Costa Autunes, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office and Chairman of the Organising Committee reported the progress of the preparations and discussed various aspects of the preparations with members of the Macau Host Committee who took part in the meeting. The Macau Host Committee chaired by Dr Chui Sai-on, Secretary for Social Affairs & Culture, was formed last year for organising the 54th PATA Annual Conference. The Macau Host Committee is comprised of an Advisory Committee, an Organising Committee and a Secretariat while Engineer Joao Manuel Costa Autunes, Director of the Macau Government Tourist Office is the Chairman of the Organising Committee. The PATA Annual Conference, with a different theme each year, is held annually to offer a chance for industry personnel to exchange ideas. The theme of the coming 54th event is “Connecting Tourism Stakeholders”. The conference will be held from 17 to 21 April at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. For media information, please visit the website at www.macautourism.gov.mo Respectable officials and Life Members of PATA are invited to attend the conference. Ministers’ level officials from the tourism industry of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Timor Leste, Tonga and Mainland China are invited to participate in the Tourism Ministers Private Luncheon Forum. Over 50 internationally renowned professionals and scholars in the tourism industry are invited to share their thoughts and experiences at the various sessions of the Conference. Keynote speaker of the opening session of the conference is Mr Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA whereas Mr Vincent H S Lo, Chairman of Shui On Holdings Limited, Hong Kong will be the keynote speaker at the Closing ceremony.