Alexis Tam joins global tourism meeting in Cambodia

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, has taken part in the first ever World Conference on Tourism and Culture.
The meeting, organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), took place in Siem Reap last week. Around 1,100 guests from across 99 countries and regions attended the event, including more than 40 tourism and culture ministers, as well as officials, tourism enterprise representatives, scholars and reporters from all over the world.
Participants shared their opinions and experience on the sustainable collaboration between culture and tourism, as well as the opportunities and risks generated from such cooperation. They also discussed the elimination of poverty through utilizing culture and tourism to create jobs, as well as how to protect natural environments and cultural heritage.
During the three-hour-long ministerial dialogue on Wednesday afternoon, Alexis Tam gave a speech expressing the MSAR government’s concern about the protection of cultural heritage, as well as its wishes to foster the collaborative partnership of culture and tourism.
He said that while Macau may be famous for its gaming tourism, it is the territory’s combination of culture and tourism that is the most attractive. He said that he appreciated the meeting organizer’s emphasis on establishing cooperation between culture and tourism, and said that Macau will be looking to learn from other countries.
Edmund Ho, the former MSAR Chief Executive and current vice president of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was also invited to attend the event. Alexis Tam  accompanied Edmund Ho in meetings with the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, the Assistant Director-General for Culture at the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, and the UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.
Alexis Tam and Macau Government Tourist Office director Helena de Senna Fernandes also visited the Cambodian Minister of Tourism, Dr Thong Khon.