International gastronomy to feature 100 booths over 10 days in June

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is organizing the inaugural “International Cities of Gastronomy Fest, Macao.” The event will take place from June 14 to June 23 at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf and will feature a total of 100 food booths. These booths will showcase Asian cuisine from six cities in China: Chengdu, Shunde, Macau, Yangzhou, Huai’an, and Chaozhou. Three Asian Creative Cities of Gastronomy – Phuket, Thailand; Kuching, Malaysia; Iloilo City, Philippines – will also present their signature delights and popular delicacies at the International Gastronomy Promenade, as a testament to the unique food scenes of these locations. Concurrently, there will be cooking demonstrations by chefs from 27 UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy, including Macau, as well as an International Gastronomy Forum.

Under the forum’s theme of “Holistic Gastronomy: Eat well, live well,” delegates from Creative Cities of Gastronomy worldwide, catering industry leaders, delegates from Chinese member cities of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in other fields, and representatives of the integrated resort enterprises will engage in discussions surrounding the concerted, simultaneous development of gastronomy and wellness, with the aim of steering gastronomic development towards a more sustainable future.

The event aims to promote Macau as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, as well as a platform for international exchange and innovation in gastronomy.

For the convenience of attending residents and visitors, free shuttle bus services will be provided to transport guests to the event venue.

The bus service will run along three routes from 3:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., from the Border Gate, Rua do Dr. Pedro José Lobo, Taipa Central Park, and the hotel resorts of the six integrated resort enterprises in Cotai District — MGM Cotai, Grand Lisboa Palace Resort Macau, Studio City, Galaxy Macau, Wynn Palace, and The Venetian Macao – to the event venue.

MGTO HIGHLIGHTS VISITORSí RECOVERY According to the latest figures, the number of visitors to Macau has reached 11.5 million, with a daily average of almost 95,000. These figures account for a recovery of 83.2% when compared to 2019. Also showing signs of recovery was hotel occupancy, although, in this case, statistics from the first quarter of this year noted an occupation rate of 84.8%, which is still 7.1% below the daily average of 91.9% recorded in 2019.