APEC Ministerial Meeting | Macau seen as ‘good example’ of tourism development

Rolando Cañizal

Rolando Cañizal, the head of the Philippines’ delegation to APEC’s 8th Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM8), sees Macau as a good example of tourism development. Speaking to reporters yesterday after meeting other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) delegates, he stated that “Macau is one good example of how tourism is being developed, balancing the environment, cultural heritage, and, at the same time, ensuring that tourism products and tourists are all within a very limited space.”
Hosted by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and organized by Macau, the 8th Tourism Ministerial Meeting will be held on Saturday, as tourism ministers and representatives of 21 APEC economies gather to discuss future strategies on smart tourism, taxation and connectivity.
As Macau receives millions of tourists each year, Rolando Cañizal is convinced that the city has been trying to expand its horizons in terms of tourist inflow. Recognizing that congestion in some of the city’s areas is visible, the Philippines’ representative said that other parts of Macau are now being developed.
“With the development happening in other parts of Macau… that’s how it will be possible to control [tourist] movement. [The need] to expand horizons, not only focusing on one tourism area, [is] what we have discussed this morning – how we can have a more integrated tourism [strategy] addressing other areas, too,” he stated.
Questioned on whether geographical constraints pose a challenge to tourism development in Macau, Rolando Cañizal said that “there are solutions” for tackling geographical hurdles, such as setting up the right infrastructure. Macau, with a population of over 600,000, is known as one of the most densely populated regions in the world.
The Philippines tourism office representative is hoping that the ministerial meeting will serve as an opportunity for delegates to discuss and agree “on the future direction of tourism in the APEC region.” In particular, this would involve adopting a tourism strategy plan, including policies and measures to develop sustainable tourism.
“We will also talk about priority programs, especially the connectivity issue,” he said. The smart tourism program and a taxation project are also to be addressed throughout the meeting.
Mr Javier Guillermo Molina, from the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico, is also emphasizing connectivity and smart tourism as crucial matters to be tackled in the meeting. Connecting such big regions is one of the greatest challenges, he explained, saying that it still takes over 14 hours to travel from the United States to Hong Kong.
“We have important projects to discuss, one being about airline connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region. Another regards friendly airports [and] how to develop airports that are friendly to travelers,” he said.
One of the event’s key achievements is the signing of the Macau Declaration. Mr Javier Guillermo Molina, who is also honorable chairman of the Tourism Working Group, stated that this agreement is “about capturing what we should be focusing on.” Ministers still need to gather to discuss all measures to be adopted, he recalled.
“[The Asia-Pacific region] is the most dynamic region for tourism and we hope to capture trends for coming years in the Macau Declaration. It’s very important for the region,” he reiterated.
APEC’s secretariat representative, Mr Pangeran Ibrani Situmorang, said yesterday that delegates discussed a wide range of matters, from smart and low-carbon tourism, to tourism market integration in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the conversion of tourism into benefits for other local industries.
‘For the tourism working group, the aim is to reach a consensus in those matters, and to promote further cooperation (…),” the secretariat representative said, adding that the participating delegations are hoping to evaluate how smart tourism is implemented in different economies.
Smart tourism, he clarified, is all about using information technology to advance tourism.
TMM8 officially opens this Saturday at the Macao East Asian Games Dome.

More places worth visiting in town, Cheong U says

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Cheong U, has urged visiting Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) delegates to explore Macau’s unique tourism sites, emphasising the sheer variety of places that are worthy attractions in addition to the already well-known historical neighborhoods.
Cheong U delivered a speech yesterday at the dinner for the 45th APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting, stating that the ministers and APEC representatives who are gathering now will help raise Macau’s international reputation. “We believe the meeting will [have] a positive effect on Macau’s path to become a World Center of Tourism and Leisure,” he said.
Cheong U encouraged those attending the dinner to participate in the planned city tours, so that they can experience Macau’s mix of Eastern and Western cultures.