ZAPE food and cultural market to launch Mid-August

The tourism bureau recently announced plans to co-host an event in the Zona de Aterros do Porto Exterior (ZAPE) district, featuring food, cultural, and creative market stalls.

The event, scheduled for mid-August, aims to boost local tourism, consumption, and public awareness of the area.

Cheng Wai Tong, deputy director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), revealed the upcoming event while speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event in Cotai yesterday.

“It will be in mid-August […] there will be food, and there will be some cultural and creative things, such as booths and stalls, which will also be presented in the form of food trucks,” he said.

The MGTO explained that the market will feature about 40 stalls combining various culinary and creative offerings. Cheng defined the initiative as part of a broader effort to highlight the ZAPE area.

“That is to do activities, to understand the local area […] first, right?” he added.

MGTO also plans to extend larger events, such as the Light Up Macao festival, to the ZAPE area in the latter half of the year. This is intended to further promote and uplift the district.

Regarding tourism figures, MGTO believes that July’s visitor numbers are encouraging, with an expected daily average of 110,000 during the summer vacation.

However, Cheng acknowledged challenges faced by some tour guides, noting that “parent-child tourists are now less likely to participate in group tours.”