MGTO promotes Macao tourism at JATA Tourism EXPO Japan

Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is displaying the city’s attractions with a technology-fuelled promotion at the JATA Tourism EXPO Japan in Tokyo, to attract more Japanese and other international visitors to Macao. MGTO Director also made a presentation at one of the sessions of the JATA Tourism EXPO Japan Forum 2016, a highlight event of the expo.

 

JATA Tourism EXPO Japan, organized by the Japan Association of Travel Agents, and regarded as Japan’s largest international and comprehensive travel show, includes the JATA Tourism EXPO Japan Forum 2016. Within the forum, the Global Tourism Forum and the Asian Tourism Leaders’ Forum are amongst the major events.

 

 

MGTO Director, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, attended the Asian Tourism Leaders’ Forum held on September 23. The forum opened with a speech by the organizer, the Chairman of JATA, Hiromi Tagawa, along with a message from the Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Asia Travel Association, Mario Hardy, and was attended by tourism officials, travel trade executives, academics and media. The one-day long forum focused on discussing and sharing the best practices concerning the great power of ‘MICE and Sports’ events in contributing to a ‘Sustainable Tourism Development’, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

 

Under the theme of ‘Green Meetings’ in the ‘MICE’ session, Senna Fernandes, being one of the panelists, presented the latest development of the MICE industry in the city, stating the positioning of MICE industry in Macao as one of the city’s development strategies, and showcasing examples initiated by both public and private sectors to encourage the convention and exhibition sector to go green. Senna Fernandes was joined by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Seattle, Tom Norwalk, among others, in a panel moderated by BBC World News presenter, Carmen Roberts.

 

MGTO Director also attended the Global Tourism Forum that started with keynote speeches by the Secretary General of World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, and the President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, David Scowsill, followed by a symposium, participated by several guest speakers, that focused on how to build tourism destinations through a harmonized development.

 

 

This year, MGTO booth at JATA Tourism EXPO Japan features a heritage-themed decoration and presents as its top attraction a virtual reality (VR) tour through Macao. After putting on a VR headset, visitors to the booth embark on a virtual trip to Macao, with a bird’s eye view of the city’s heritage, the new tourism complexes, a ride on a Macau Grand Prix race and finish with a Bungy Jump from the Macau Tower. Another special feature of MGTO booth is a Macao food truck, specially set up for the consumer days of the expo, on the weekend. The Macao food truck will introduce some of Macao’s favorite delicacies, prepared by two Macao food and beverage establishments.

 

Representatives from Macao hotel, travel agencies and airline sector, also join MGTO at the expo to promote the city, with the booth also serving as a platform for Macao trade to conduct business with their international counterparts and to tap into the Japanese market. JATA Tourism EXPO, running September 22 to 25, is Japan’s main international and comprehensive tourism exhibition, as well as a privileged window for destinations to display its attractions in the Japanese market. Last year the event attracted more than 1,000 exhibiting entities from over 140 countries and regions, and 173,602 visitors.

 

 

Japan is one of Macao’s most important international visitor-source markets. For the first eight months of the year visitor arrivals increased by 7.5 per cent to a total of 187,011 visitors, with overnight stay visitors marking 11.6 per cent growth during the same period. Macao and Japan air links also increased this year, with direct flights to Fukuoka added to the existing daily air links to Tokyo and Osaka.

 

Given the relevance of the market and potential for further growth, to boost visitation from Japan, MGTO organized an outstanding promotion in the country last February, on top of the promotional work carried out all year round. Macao appeared for the first time as a feature destination at the Sapporo Snow Festival, a world famous winter festival in Japan, with a gigantic Ruins of St Paul’s sculpture in snow with 3D video mapping projections and a Macao Café, in a mega promotion unveiled by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Alexis Tam.