PATA to host annual summit in Macau next May

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) will host its annual summit in Macau from May 15 to 17 next year, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced yesterday. The announcement came after a three-day site inspection by a delegation of the tourism organization to Macau.

The PATA delegation has toured Macau this week in preparation for the summit as well as to gain immediate understanding in situ of the new tourism and venue offerings in Macau.

This was the first visit by PATA to Macau since the pandemic. The director of the MGTO, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, pointed out that this will be the first PATA event that Macau will host since the pandemic.

“It is an honor for Macau to host the PATA 2024 Annual Summit. The association has a special place in the heart of our tourism industry, and we are happy to once again be allowed to welcome delegates from various destinations to our city. Especially since this will be the first PATA event we have hosted since the pandemic, allowing us to show participants the current dynamism in the evolution of our city towards greater diversification, providing a memorable event in Macau,” Senna Fernandes said.

On behalf of PATA, president Peter Semone expressed joy about the return to Macau, saying, “all of us at PATA are excited to return to Macau for the 2024 PATA Annual Summit and experience a first-hand update of the significant developments in the destination since the successful 2010 and 2017 editions of PATA Travel Mart in Macau, and the PATA Annual Conference in 2005. The MGTO has been a strong partner of PATA since 1958 and a sponsor of the PATA Gold Awards for the last 28 consecutive years. Next year’s event provides Macau with the perfect opportunity to showcase the destination and the Greater Bay Area to all delegates.”

The three-day event is scheduled for May next year and will take place at the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort. The international conference will bring together tourism industry leaders from the public and private sectors in the Asia-Pacific region in the city to discuss topics relevant to the sector and related to Macau.