Macau celebrated World Tourism Day 2025 on Saturday with a raft of activities, featuring the annual Tray Race, “Lucky Tourist” event and Mascots Parade.
According to a statement from the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) on Saturday, the event aimed to highlight the city’s vitality as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, according to the statement, welcomed the “Lucky Tourist” at Macau International Airport in the morning, presenting him with souvenirs and an e-consumption card, and urged the visitor and his family to explore local neighbourhoods. The statement added that souvenirs were also distributed at MGTO’s Tourist Information counters.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, the Tray Race brought excitement to the Historic Centre of Macau in the city’s main square, Largo do Senado, where contestants representing local hotels and restaurants ran from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St. Paul’s to the square, while balancing a bottle of Macau Beer on their trays.
The race concluded with Rhoderick Robledo Garcia of The Venetian Macao winning the men’s category, while Li Siting of MGM Cotai claimed the women’s title. The statement said that the Best Costume awards went to Zhou Chongwei representing Macau Fisherman’s Wharf and Li Linjiao representing the City of Dreams’ Nüwa Macau.
The Mascots Parade, which featured 24 mascots, comprising MGTO’s “Mak Mak”, mascots from various government entities, integrated resorts, community groups, and a tourism enterprise from Hengqin, filled the square with festive cheer, the statement said.
The statement added that Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) mascot “KABO” won first prize, while New Yaohan’s “Arnold & Annie” won second prize, and Mak Mak third.
World Tourism Day 2025, themed “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation” this year, aimed to highlight the transformative potential of tourism as an agent of positive change, the statement concluded.
This photo shows contestants from different companies, running down the lanes while balancing a beer on a tray safely through the city’s main square, Largo do Senado, on Saturday afternoon. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
