Brazil, Argentina, partner countries of GTEF 2019

The Global Tourism Economy Forum came to a close yesterday, announcing that Argentina and Brazil will be its Partner Countries next year, while Jiangsu will be the Featured Chinese Province of the forum.

The closing ceremony yesterday at MGM Cotai was attended by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, the newly delegated UNWTO Tourism Ambassador, Pansy Ho, and Edmund Ho, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, amongst others.

Under the theme “Strategic Partnership in a New Era, Rising Momentum for a Shared Future”, the two-day event featured a series of discussions and exchange sessions, as well as business matching activities and an exhibition, among other program highlights.

The last day of the forum featured keynotes on “Tourism Development in the Greater Bay Area” and “Building a Travel Ecosystem and a New Lifestyle” as well as discussion panels including one themed “Greater Bay Area Session Part I – China Enterprises Perspective,” amongst others.

Sessions on Youth Leaders Roundtable Meeting in cooperation with Greater Bay Area Youth Federation, “China Outbound Tourism” in cooperation with Ivy Alliance, “Gastronomy, Creativity, Tourism” in cooperation with UNESCO, were also held.

A lunch presentation was also hosted by the European Union at Grand Hyatt Macau to introduce the unparalleled tourism attractions across Europe. 

In Tam’s closing remarks, he noted, “GTEF has shared new insights, explored business opportunities and extended the positive impact of tourism on the economy to different sectors and geographic regions.”

He added that the SAR is looking forward to forging ahead with its collaboration with the World Tourism Organization, combining training resources and tourism facilities in a bid to provide professional training for government and industry personnel from developing countries in the field of tourism.

“In the days ahead, we will pour a greater effort into building new avenues and bridges among countries and regions, and facilitate collaborative partnerships between the public and private sectors in the field of tourism,” Tam pledged. LV