Thursday, June 6, 2019
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) took part in the UNWTO regional conference in Thimphu, Bhutan, under the theme “Sustainable Development through Tourism.”
The one-day conference started with remarks from the UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan, Tandi Dorji, among other officials.
The conference program included two other panel sessions: one focusing on “Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Consumption and Production through Tourism,” and the other invited speakers for discussing Bhutan’s philosophical stance on “Gross National Happiness through Tourism.”
The MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes presented information about Macau’s tourism environment. Fernandes said that exceptional development in tourism has also created pressure on the residents, especially more recently, after the opening of the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Visitor arrivals for the first four months of this year have already surpassed 10 million, marking a 20% year-on-year increase.
As part of the conference, the tourism chief also took part in a regional dialogue session along with other government representatives from mainland China, Bhutan, Japan, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vanuatu, the Maldives and Nepal among others.
