MGTO introduces “Macau Business Tourism Centre”

Director of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) João Manuel Costa Antunes introduced to the tourism related trade, civil associations and media today (March 28) about the new “Macau Business Tourism Centre” that will enter into operation shortly. MGTO invited representatives from the hotel, aviation and tourism industries, civil associations in Macau that have organized convention and exhibition activities in recent years and media to take part in a briefing on the “Macau Business Tourism Centre”. Antunes outlined the objective, mission, roles, strategies and services of the “Macau Business Tourism Centre” to the participants. Antunes expressed that the tourism industry of Macau is facing both opportunities and challenges brought by its rapid development, and Macau has to capitalize on the opportunities to nurture the territory into to a prominent business tourism destination in the region. It is the right time to establish a business tourism center to promote the development of the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions industry in Macau. He said that the objective of setting up the “Macau Business Tourism Centre” within the structure of MGTO is to understand the needs of the local industry and strengthen the liaison work among the trade. The Centre is an “interactive” unit that listens to the views and opinions of the trade and civil associations to achieve the common goal of the industry. Antunes also stressed that the “Centre” will, through defining Macau’s main strategic orientation in relation to different competitive destinations in terms of Business Tourism, position Macau as an innovative and dynamic destination for international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. He pointed out that the “Centre” will also encourage the public and private sectors to jointly produce competitive products and services with high quality. It will increase the awareness of local businesses and relevant government departments on the importance of the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions industry in Macau, in particular the economic benefits it generates. He continued that the “Centre” will organize training courses and exchange activities, as well as conduct relevant studies and analysis on 6 areas, namely marketing, industry support, research, training, bidding and event/special projects. The “Macau Business Tourism Centre” is located at Senado Square, the former headquarters of MGTO. This five-storey building includes an information counter and a gallery on the ground floor; a computer research centre on the first floor; marketing, industry support, research, training and bidding units on second floor; events/projects unit on the third floor and video and slides archive on the fourth floor.