Astrid Chan shares about the topic “Personal branding” at the invitation of MGTO and Sands Retail Academy
As the first training initiative co-organized with local industry partners for frontline professionals, the “Celebrity Mentor” Workshop Series was presented by Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in collaboration with Sands Retail Academy to optimize retail service quality in Macao for the enhancement of satisfaction among local and visiting shoppers.
Featured as the guest speaker in the first workshop attended by about 100 retail professionals today (11 October), renowned artist from Hong Kong, Astrid Chan, elaborated on how to build and develop one’s own brand, design one’s professional image and master workplace etiquette under the topic of “Personal branding”. MGTO Deputy Director Ricky Hoi, Head of Training and Quality Management Department of MGTO, Doris Leong, Chief of Staff of Sands China Limited, Grant Chum, President of the Executive Committee of the Macau Association of Retailers & Tourism Services, Frederick Yip, and Chairman of Macau Retail Management Association, Alan Wong, attended the workshop among other guests.
In the themed workshop on “Personal branding” held at the Adelson Advanced Education Centre this morning, featured speaker Astrid Chan shared about her path to keep fighting for self-enhancement opportunities as an artist to attain her goal towards successful professional transformation. Her motto for success: “Work hard at your tasks in hand today and map out your future path in the next five years at least. Never give up on your dream regardless your age. The personal brand you create is what lasts forever”. The workshop was attended by about 100 retail professionals mainly from luxury retail stores and tenants of large shopping malls. Participants showed genuine interest in the inspirational talk with their full attention and fervent feedback.
At the occasion, MGTO Deputy Director Ricky Hoi expressed his gladness for the Office’s collaboration with Sands Retail Academy in launching the workshop series. For years, surveys on visitor expenditure in Macao have shown that spending on shopping continued to account for a dominant share of 40% to 50% in visitor expenditure. The persisting phenomenon encourages local retailers to place a greater focus on enriching and optimizing visitors’ shopping experience, which will in turn consolidate the destination image of Macao.
According to statistical figures from the Statistics and Census Service, the total spending (excluding gaming expenses) of visitors in Macao in the second quarter of 2018 was 16.5 billion patacas, a year-on-year surge of 20%. The per-capita spending of visitors was 1,996 patacas, up by 11.6% year-on-year. Shopping constituted 46.3% of visitor expenditure, while accommodation and dining accounted for 27.8% and 18.7%.
An acclaimed artist in Hong Kong, Astrid Chan has moderated at various political, commercial and entertainment events. In 2013, she began actively engaging in the professional training of corporate and personal image building. With an array of international accreditations for specialty skills under her belt, Chan frequently works as a mentor and featured speaker for governmental departments, non-governmental institutions, banks, insurance companies, major enterprises, community organizations and academic institutes in Hong Kong, besides her current position as Director General of the Federation of Corporate Trainers.
To cater to the growing diversity of visitors from various international markets, MGTO regularly organizes training sessions, seminars and workshops for professionals in the tourism and related industries, encouraging and assisting their professional enhancement through training, thus leading to the advance of service quality and work productivity across the tourism industry in line with the city’s aspiration to become a world centre of tourism and leisure. Since the beginning of 2018 until early this month, MGTO has organized nearly 30 training sessions, workshops and seminars for about 2,100 participants in total, ranging from travel agency personnel, tour guides and tourism professionals to employees from the hotel, retail and catering sectors.
Established in 2013, Sands Retail Academy aims to provide service training for retail professionals, including employees of the tenants of shopping malls under Sands China Limited, to align their service quality with international standards.
Co-organized by MGTO and Sands Retail Academy, the “Celebrity Mentor” Workshop Series will feature other dignitaries and key opinion leaders (KOL) who will share their insights and lead inspiring discussions on other most relevant topics of interest for frontline professionals.
