Macau is hosting for the sixth time what is considered the largest tourism sector congress, running until December 4 under the theme “75 Years Looking to the Future”.
The president of APAVT, Pedro Costa Ferreira, stated that as of last Friday morning, the event had surpassed “a thousand accreditations, the highest number” recorded at the association’s congresses.
“It’s an extraordinary number, even considering our high expectations. The fact that it’s in Macau, a city we haven’t visited since 2017, marking our 75th anniversary, our 50th congress, and incorporating the Tourism of Portugal ‘roadshow’ in Asia into one of our panels, have been key reasons for this positive outcome,” he explained.
Regarding expectations, the official expressed: “Honestly, we anticipate a memorable congress.”
This congress also marks the conclusion of the association’s 75th-anniversary celebrations.
The president explained that one of the reasons for choosing Macau again was the strategy of engaging with the world’s largest outbound tourism market, China.
“There has been work undertaken over years with Macau, which, when successful and increasing in intensity year after year, naturally leads to hosting a congress, as happened this year,” the president noted when discussing the venue choice.
Apart from that, Pedro Costa Ferreira emphasized, “There is an obvious strategy to approach the largest outbound tourism market in the world, China, a strategy fully embraced by both private operators and Tourism of Portugal.”
Regarding the main challenges, he mentioned they began with organizing a congress on the other side of the world.
Following the success in participation, topics, speakers, and connection with the Chinese outbound market, the challenge now is to manage a congress with several hundred more attendees than usual. This involves maintaining close ties with members, ensuring the usual flow of work, and organizing transportation,” he explained.
About the theme choice, he assured it “reveals ambition and follows a strategic development model.”
“In fact, we are looking to the future, building on the best numbers in the sector seen in 2024, consolidating through this year. Additionally, throughout our 75-year history, we’ve lived each year preparing, planning, and considering the future. We will celebrate our 75th anniversary as we have lived each year, looking to the future,” concluded the APAVT president.
