Yesterday morning saw the opening of the two-day World Cities Branding Conference at the MGM Cotai resort. Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong underlined the importance of making use of comparative advantages when discussing branding at the conference yesterday.
During his speech, Lei emphasized that mainland cities have increasingly identifiable branding and images, “showcasing the robust power of elevating towards impeccable brands in the world.”
Cities should complement each other, for example, with traditionally well-established city brands sharing opportunities from the development of newer brands to expedite the city’s renewal.
He concluded that building up new world-class city brands with a forward-thinking mentality and communicating them with an innovative mindset is the shared vision and direction for domestic and international cities.
“Actively promoting exchanges between world cities is a crucial path towards the realization of shared ideals,” Lei added.
Lei described Macau as “a new path for the exploration of development in world city branding and the ideal location for opening conversations between Chinese and foreign cities.”
The organization of the conference is a critical action taken by Macau to underline its experience in the MICE environment, Lei said. The conference occurring in Macau is beneficial to translating these ambitions into reality and implementing agenda items.
Lei said the Greater Bay Area was one of the world’s most open groups of cities, further stating that the area would help China’s appearance on the world stage.
At the same event, venue owner and operator Pansy Ho, co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited, highlighted the conference’s core message – the need for China’s branding to have a clear image and values – and expressed her agreement with using the conference as a platform for telling “good stories about China.”
Ho added that the market had tired of traditional branding and marketing communications, which are abrupt and profit-oriented. Instead, the current market is leaning towards autonomous choice based on cultural acceptance.
She pointed out that culture and tourism brands that represent national images “can only win widespread favorability and reputation only with cultural power that is gladly recognized by people.”
Branding for China’s tourism and culture should “exercise unprecedented vision to foster mutual representation and promotion of the two factors,” she said. The more powerful the Chinese brand, the better the international environment for the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation, she added.
Under the scenario of tourism revival, the introduction of the conference in Macau is to promote cultural, industrial and resourceful interactions between cities, as well as highlighting the Chinese brand to the world.
At the conference, Zhang Hui, expert at a committee at the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, suggested aspiring world tourism cities take the path of full-region tourism, facilitate convenient tourist experiences, utilize local culture and history, and exercise an innovative mentality.
Meanwhile, Sheng Ying, National Officer at the China Office of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), suggested that city pinpoint its core competitive advantages to cultivate brands.
