MGTO and Macau travel trade delegates pay an inspection visit to Shenzhen
Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) paid a visit to Nansha in Guangzhou and Shenzhen together with Macau trade delegates on 5 – 7 August, where they met with local tourism officials and members of the travel trade for enhancement of regional cooperation in tourism. It is among the major tasks in 2015 for implementing the "Framework Agreement on Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao" for Macau and Nansha, Guangzhou to jointly develop yachting tourism. To implement the task proposed in the cooperation meeting between Guangzhou and Macau this May, MGTO led a delegation with representatives of Macau travel trade to Nansha for an update on the city’s latest development. The delegation then took the opportunity to pay an exchange and familiarization visit to Shenzhen. MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Head of Destination Marketing Department Betty Fok and Head of Licensing and Inspection Department Ines Chan together with representatives of Association of Macau Tourist Agents, Travel Industry Council of Macau and Macau travel agencies formed a delegation of 16 members to visit the two cities. Besides visits to local attractions, the three-day program included a networking and discussion sessions with members of the travel trade in Nansha and Shenzhen. In addition, MGTO officials met with the tourism authorities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen to discuss a range of topics for enhancement of cooperation including tourism resource sharing, visitor trends between the destinations, concerted efforts in promoting regional travel and upgrade of tourism quality. MGTO officials met with Director Zhu Li and Deputy Director Tan Aiying of Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality in the morning on 6 August. The two parties exchanged perspectives regarding stronger regulation on tourism market as well as multi-destination tour routes. The MGTO delegation met with Director Zhang Heyun, Deputy Director Yang Yongqun and Division Chief Chen Biao of Culture, Sports and Tourism Administration of Shenzhen Municipality in the afternoon to discuss topics including tourism market regulation and multi-destination tour routes. It was also under discussion that Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau will make a greater joint effort in promoting their destinations and organizing media familiarization trips to boost the Indian market in the latter half of 2015. The delegation also visited an array of tourism resources and facilities as well as famous attractions in Shenzhen and Nansha New District including Nansha Wetland Park; Sunflower Garden featuring a 6D themed light show; The OCT Harbour, Shenzhen and China Folk Culture Villages. Guangdong and Macau have maintained a stable collaborative relationship in tourism for a long time. Along the way, the two destinations have been leveraging a range of cooperative platforms as follow: Guangdong and Macau; Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau; Shenzhen and Macau; as well as Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macau. By running a joint booth in travel marts and holding joint promotional activities, the tourism authorities have made a continuing effort to widen their visitor markets and encourage multi-destination travel through promotional projects across the Mainland and overseas, branding their cities as one regional destination. During the Golden Week, the two tourism authorities activated the tourism notification system between Guangdong and Macau so that Mainland visitors could obtain timely travel tips. In recent years, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau have striven to enhance their collaboration in leisure tourism and foster the development of special “multi-destination” travel products. The tourism authorities of Shenzhen and Macau signed the first Memorandum of Cooperation in Tourism in 2006. Following that, the two offices signed the “Agreement on Cooperation to Foster Quality and Integrity Tourism in Macau” in early 2012 and the “Framework Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism between Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai” in September. The two destinations also held a joint presentation of their tourism products in Chongqing in the same month to foster their tourism development through destination promotion, industry management and multi-destination tours. Guangdong province stands as Macau’s greatest visitor market from the Mainland. Between January and May this year, Macau welcomed over 4.33 million visitor arrivals from Guangdong. Regional travel has become a leading trend for tourism development. MGTO hopes to build a stronger communication system with different Mainland provinces and cities through various platforms to attract more international visitations to Macau and neighboring cities in the style of visiting multi destinations in one trip.
