Pansy Ho Chiu King, vice chairwoman and secretary-general of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), closed the 2017 edition of the event in Macau last week with an announcement that the European Union will be regional partner for next year’s event.
Ho, who is co-chairwoman and executive director of MGM China Holdings, said the event will be expanded next year, featuring the 28 E.U. member states on a larger scale than this year when the event partnered with only central and eastern European states.
Ho said the move will promote the creation of sustainable tourism for Macau. “We must understand that one for all and all for one is a pledge to share resources and share benefits,” she said. “With the political will, consensus and mutual trust, regional collaboration can create a sustainable eco-system… GTEF has not only grown in size and gained a prominent global coalition in six short years, but also deepened its engagement with (the world’s) most powerful influences in tourism.”
It was a theme carried throughout the entire event, which began six years ago as a Macau-only affair and has expanded to encompass the worldwide tourism community.
“When we started (GTEF) six years ago, the objective was to create for Macau its own Macau- branded event,” Ho told the Macau Daily Times. “One might say that Macau is the most successful tourism destination in the past decade. However, although we have been successful in bringing all of these (hospitality and gaming) brands to Macau, they do not belong to Macau. They are hotel brands, and they have properties in different parts of the world.”
She said the GTEF is dedicated to giving tourists reasons to visit Macau other than the particular hotel brands, or gaming in particular. “We don’t want people to come because they want to stay in a particular hotel,” she said “We want them to come (for) Macau.”
