MGTO: Both online and offline training provided to tourism workers

Training via online and offline channels has been provided to workers in the tourism industry to better prepare them for reopening after Covid-19 restrictions, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has recently said.

In reply to lawmaker Leong Sun Iok’s written inquiry dated Mar. 17, Ricky Hoi, deputy director of the MGTO, made the comment.

Hoi said that in the area of assisting industry to improve business skills and transformation, the MGTO had long gathered information on the relevant needs from industry leaders and associations.

Training courses were prepared as per the information and opinions collected from participants of previous courses.

Online and offline courses were opened to suit the needs of industry workers, who want to gain knowledge and improve their ‘soft skills.’ Hoi underlined that industry workers had long been encouraged to move upwards on the career ladder.

The MGTO’s plan for this year in the area of industry training is to organize 29 offline and six online courses, covering knowledge and skills in language, customer service, communication and management, food safety, culture, comprehensive tourism, barrier-free communication, and so on.

The bureau, meanwhile, will also assist trainees to obtain relevant internationally recognized qualifications.

Early this year, the government started a scheme to subsidize tour groups from mainland China. As of Apr. 3, 88 local travel agencies have so far qualified for the scheme, with a total of 1,796 groups applying for the subsidy, amounting to 51,978 tourists.

In mid-April, the government extended the scheme to tour groups from Taiwan and other overseas markets.

Meanwhile, Hoi also disclosed that luxury tours and the Middle East are the MGTO’s focus and target source market.

On regional cooperation, Hoi recapped that tourism authorities across the Greater Bay Area joined together and formed a market supervisory entity in September 2020 for more efficient communication and better management of market order.