MGTO Seminar to Benefit Local Association Leaders

An Association Executive Seminar tailored for local association leaders was held at the Four Seasons Macao Hotel by the Macau Business Tourism Centre (MBTC) of Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) today, with featured speakers Mr Gary Grimmer and Mr. Mike Williams. Gary and Mike are MICE industry specialists who provide consultation services to MGTO/MBTC for the development of international convention and incentive business. This is the third seminar that MGTO/MBTC has organized in Hong Kong and Macau since its establishment in 2006. The Association Executive Seminar is a partnership program between the MGTO/MBTC and professional associations in Macau and Hong Kong, which provides an educational opportunity for association leaders who are responsible for, or can influence decisions about bringing one of their national, regional or global congress to Macau, as well as how to bid, host and manage the event. More importantly, participants learn more about how MGTO/MBTC can help them through all the stages of the bid process. The event was a new initiative of the MGTO/MBTC in line with its mission, which is to facilitate the development of the business tourism industry in Macau. During these uncertain times, brought on by the current global economical downturn, it is a key strategy to keep focusing on the high potential of Macau as a business tourism destination. A key to Macau’s success as a business tourism destination lies on how the government and industry can collaborate to promote, secure and service MICE events. The seminar attracted major local association leaders and was followed by a networking luncheon, where they were joined by 110 industry partners invited by the MGTO/MBTC. Since the commencement of the Macau Business Tourism Centre in 2006, MGTO has been strengthening its effort to develop and position Macau as one of the premier MICE destinations in Asia. Benefiting not only the local industry, professional training opportunities are also available for the region from time to time with emphasis on successful development through regional cooperation. In addition, with the debut of the ‘Industry Partner Program’ in October last year and the ‘Strategic MICE Market Stimulation Program’ announced recently, it is anticipated that more business tourism partners will benefit from the increase in promotional efforts of MGTO/MBTC, targeting the high yield MICE market.