The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is hosting its four-day European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA)* 2025 Macao Summit, which officially opened yesterday but, actually, began on Monday.
The summit, which is on until tomorrow, is co-hosted by SJM Resorts and aims to enable participants to experience the city’s “tourism + MICE” advantages, as well as increase Macau’s international profile and expand visitor source markets from Europe, according to a statement provided at the event. It is joined by ECTAA members, with a delegation comprised of around 40 industry leaders and experts.
Addressing yesterday’s press conference, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes remarked that visitor arrivals from Europe to Macau saw over 77,000 visitors in the first four months of the year, a 16 percent year-on-year increase.
Considering the current ECTAA event, further activities and the relationships that will be built, Senna Fernandes said: “I trust we can hopefully go beyond [pre-pandemic] 2019 going forwards”.
The activities during the summit include the associations’ board and general assembly, panel sessions, a networking session between the delegation and 65 local travel trade industry representatives that took place yesterday morning. There will also be tours in Macau and Hengqin.
Senna Fernandes said in her remarks that the summit offered a “unique opportunity for Macau to provide to this very diverse group of European travel trade members a first-hand experience about the new wave of iconic attractions that is emerging in the city and is part of the next chapter that our city is opening up as a world centre of tourism and leisure”.
Moreover, the ongoing summit is also “good way of showing our European friends what Macau actually is”, Senna Fernandes said in response to a question by the Post during an interview with English-language media.
Meanwhile, also addressing yesterday’s attendees was ECTAA President Frank Oostdam, who touched on what was discussed in the summit that morning, particularly on the points of payment procedures and accessibility.
A TDM reporter also asked Senna Fernandes about these points during the English-language interview. Speaking specifically on accessibility, Senna Fernandes said that there are a lot of different ways that European visitors come to Macau such as via the mainland or Hong Kong.
Moving forward, Senna Fernandes said: “We actually should have a broader mind in terms of the connectivity to Macau. There are a lot of Chinese carriers already flying to Europe from different parts, different major hubs from China. I think we should better explore these opportunities of bringing different visitors from all over the world through [mainland] China, through different hubs in [mainland] China to Macau”.
Yesterday’s press conference also saw speeches by SJM Resorts Managing Director Daisy Ho Chiu Fung and ECTAA Vice President Heli Mäki-Fränti.
*As the umbrella organisation of the national-level associations of 32 European countries, ECTAA represents 80,000 travel agents and tour operators, according to a statement provided at the press conference.
SJM Resorts Managing Director Daisy Ho Chiu Fung (from left to right), Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) President Frank Oostdam, and ECTAA Vice President Heli Mäki-Fränti pose for a group photo after yesterday’s press conference at Grand Lisboa Place (GLP) in Cotai. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
