Macao has always been the crossroad for the meeting of East and West cultures. For over 4 centuries, Chinese, Portuguese and people from the globe lives in Macao in harmony, creating the unique culture of Macao and the intangible heritage. Since the Historic Centre of Macao was successfully inscribed as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 2005, the society becomes more aware of the heritage conservation. For this reason, Institute For Tourism Studies has chosen “Intangible Heritage and Tourism” as the theme of the Summer International Exchange Programme this year, to encourage students from different places to understand the importance of cultural tourism to Macao’s tourism development. The 11th Summer International Exchange Programme is to be held from 22 to 27 June. With the support of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Economic Officer, Mr. Jean-Louis Vignuda, will be our honourable guest speaker, together with IFT’s academic members, including Dr. Sharif Shams Imon, Coordinator for Tourism Management and Heritage Management Programmes, Dr. Don Dioko, Director of International Tourism Research Centre, Dr. Baudouin Neirynck, Coordinator for Hotel Management and Tourism Event Management Programmes, Mr. Ong Chin Ee and Ms. Cora Wong. 15 members from the mainland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Russia, India and Macao were carefully selected to participate in this exchange programme in order to have a blend of different cultural background. It aims to explore the key issues related to intangible heritage and tourism. The participants will have the opportunity to experience the various dimensions of Macao's rich Chinese and Portuguese heritage and to understand how these dimensions are affected by tourism and at the same time how they are affecting it. The main objective of the programme is to help participants learn how to develop a responsible cultural tourism strategy involving intangible heritage. IFT strives to elevate and globalise the tourism education in Macao through organising different types of exchange programmes to broaden the international vision of the students. Students can also learn how to be compatible with others and overcome the problem of cultural discrepancy, in order to prepare themselves for their future career in the tourism industry.
