MGTO preparing for PATA Travel Mart in Macau next year

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) is preparing to host the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart 2027 in Macau.

The preparations began this week during the local tourism authority’s participation in PATA Travel Mart 2026, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, from August 18 to 20.

According to an MGTO statement, the authority used the opportunity to invite participants to next year’s event, which will be held in Macau from September 20 to 22.

Next year’s event will mark the return of the travel mart to Macau after it was last held in the city in 2017. MGTO noted that it will use the international event to provide a firsthand update on the city’s “Tourism+” development and its role as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.

The authority also said the travel mart is intended “to showcase Macau’s role as an international exchange platform and help to build a wider international network, offering participants the chance to fully leverage the destination’s unique advantages as a ‘precision connector’ between the Chinese mainland and the world.”

During this year’s event in Malaysia, Macau’s local tourism industry was also highlighted, with projects from MGTO and three integrated resort enterprises receiving a total of seven awards in different categories covering marketing, sustainability and social responsibility in the PATA Gold Awards 2026.

Now in its 49th edition, the PATA Travel Mart is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s longest-standing international travel trade exhibitions, gathering more than 1,100 delegates from 48 countries and regions this year.

The event also provides a platform for networking, including a forum, the PATA Gold Awards presentation ceremony and several association meetings, among other activities.

The 2027 edition will also celebrate PATA’s 50th anniversary since the launch of the Travel Mart.

PATA Gold Awards recognize seven tourism projects

As mentioned, the PATA Gold Awards 2026 gala dinner and award presentation ceremony recognized a record seven projects from Macau’s local tourism industry this year.

MGTO received two PATA Gold Awards: the Destination Marketing Campaign (Destination Management Organization – Asia) award for POP MART MACAO CITYWALK and the Most Engaging Social Media Campaign award for CreatorWeek Macao 2025.

Additionally, Melco Resorts & Entertainment received two PATA Gold Awards: one in the Marketing Campaign – Hospitality (Hotel, Resort, Management Company) category for “House of Dancing Water Premiere” and another in the Climate Action Initiative (Industry) category for “RISE to Go Above & Beyond.”

Sands China Limited also received two PATA Gold Awards: one in the Printed Marketing Campaign (Industry) category for “Sands China Presents: Dopamine: Fountain of Happiness Artbook” and another in the Sustainable and Inclusive Marketing Campaign category for “Empowering Inclusive Communities: The Sands Shopping Carnival.”

The final award went to MGM China in the Human Capital Development Program category for its “Unleashing Greatness – MGM’s Human Capital Development Program.”