Tourism authority’s Los Angeles food truck wins PATA award

The ‘Experience Macao Food Truck’ campaign held in Los Angeles last year.

The Macao Government Tourism Office’s (MGTO) promotional campaign “Experience Macao Food Truck in Los Angeles” won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Award in Marketing. The awards were held in Kazakhstan last week.
The campaign, which was rolled out last year, offered residents and travelers in Los Angeles a taste of Macau’s delicacies, including pork chop buns and Portuguese egg tarts.
The campaign also featured two daily lion dances and provided practical tips for travelling to Macau.
MGTO invited key trade and media members in Los Angeles to experience the food truck and Macau’s signature delicacies first, prior to the official launch of the campaign.
The PATA Travel Mart 2019 was held in Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), Kazakhstan from September 19 to 20, and was attended by MGTO director Helena de Senna Fernandes, along with other local tourism executives.
During the event, MGTO’s booth showcased the city’s latest travel attractions, events and festivals, and provided a platform for Macau’s industry operators to connect and explore business opportunities with their international counterparts.
The association won four Grand Awards and 29 Gold Awards at this year’s PATA Awards, which recognize organizations and individuals for their achievements in various categories.
These include the areas of marketing, environment, corporate social responsibility, heritage and culture, education and training, marketing media and travel journalism.
Meanwhile, Melco Resorts & Entertainment secured the PATA Gold Award in the category of “marketing – hospitality” for its advertising campaign “The Art of Winning,” marking its third win of the prize since 2017.
The campaign was designed to promote the relaunch of its flagship integrated resort, featuring “visionary artwork, architectural masterpieces, high-end gastronomy and immersive entertainment.”
Further, tourism officials were also invited to meet and connect with young tourism professionals of the Association, and share their experiences at the PATA Executive Board for tourism development.
A major annual travel trade show, PATA Travel Mart attracted over 1,200 international buyers, sellers and travel agencies from 63 countries and regions this year.
Macau has been a PATA member since 1958 and hosted the PATA Travel Mart in 2010 and 2017, as well as the PATA Annual Conference in 2005.
“For the 24th consecutive year, MGTO supported this prestigious initiative of PATA as an opportunity to raise the profile of Macau as a travel destination and contribute to sustainable tourism development across the Asia-Pacific region,” the bureau said in a statement. LV

MGTO director Helena de Senna Fernandes speaks with young tourism professionals