MGTO hosts Macau World Heritage Photo Exhibition in Paris

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) organized a 10 day long “World Heritage Photo Exhibition – Macau Historic Centre” from October 9 in Paris, to promote Macau's unique cultural heritage and to reinforce its image as a prominent tourism destination. Director João Manuel Costa Antunes of MGTO, Minister-Advisor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in France, Mr. Qu Xing, Head of Chinese Culture Center of the PRC in Paris, Mrs Hou Xianghua, Head of Promotion & Marketing Department of MGTO, Cecilia Tse and General Manager of MGTO Representative Office in France, Cyrille Schwartz officiated the Opening Ceremony. In 2005, "The Historic Centre of Macau" is enlisted on UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage List, raising the number of World Heritage Sites in China to 31. A selection of photos showcasing "The Historic Center of Macau", through which MGTO aims to further promote the world heritage of Macau in the European markets, will be displayed between October 9-18. The Chinese Cultural Center of the PRC is situated nearby the Seine River, in a prestigious building of the Haussmann period, where the culture of east meets west. To take the promotion a step further, on October 8, MGTO took part at the Opening Ceremony of Asia Pacific Roadshow (L’ASIE PACIFIQUE dans votre ville) at the Quai Branly Museum (Musée du quai Branly) to provide tourism destinations from Asia Pacific to market their products to French travel industry. Approximately 200 sellers and 400 buyers attended the event. Macau is represented with a stand to highlight Macau's multi-faceted tourism products and to distribute latest tourism information. In addition, the representation office of France, together with other Asia Pacific destinations, also attend a series of the Roadshow in other cities, Lille (Oct 14), Marseille (Oct 18), Nice (Oct 20), Strasbourg (Oct 23) to raise Macau’s image in France. The representative office of MGTO in France was set up in 2005, to expand the European market for Macau. Last year Macau welcomed over 36,000 visitors from France, nearly 26 per cent year-on-year growth. From January to August this year, received over 28,000 visitors, a growth of 23% compared to same period of last year.