MGTO signs MoU with Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau

Under the witness of H.E. the Chief Executive of the Macau Special Administrative Region, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) to develop and strengthen mutual cooperation in business tourism.

Director of the MGTO, João Manuel Costa Antunes, and Director General of TCEB, Kajit Habanananda, signed the MOU at the opening ceremony of the Thai-Macau Business Relations Seminar, held April 9 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok.

The MOU states that the two parties will exchange delegation to share information and experiences in the fields of business tourism development and management, business tourism promotion and human resources development in business tourism. The two parties will also strengthen cooperation to promote and attract business tourism investment, coordinate and organize study trips to seek opportunities and cooperation on business tourism.

Other contents include measures to attract business tourists and to strengthen cooperation in business tourism training and human resources development. 

Thailand became the 10th largest source market of Macau in 2006. Macau welcomed almost 90,000 Thai visitors in 2006, a growth of 54.5% over the previous year. The first two months of 2007 saw a remarkable growth of 64.9%, with 14,839 arrivals from Thailand.

"The Macau SAR Government attaches great importance to the diversification of the tourism industry, and "business tourism" is the priority in tourism development. 2007 is an important year for the development of convention, exhibition and business tourism. MGTO will strongly support various convention and exhibition activities and training efforts. The "Macau Business Tourism Center" will assume the role of a platform to facilitate the development of convention, exhibition and business tourism," said Antunes.

"Signing this MOU with our partner, the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is a most positive development," said Mr. Habanananda. "The role of TCEB is to help Thailand's business tourism sector grow and we strongly believe that the best way to achieve our goals is to have good partners in strategic locations around the world, and to help each other in our respective efforts to attract more meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions business. We are particularly excited for this newly forged alliance with Macau and eager to learn from their experts and to share our experiences and knowledge with them. This is a clear example of a win-win situation."

Macau Government Tourist Office, a government body, plays the vital role to promote tourism of Macau and co-ordinates related activities and services within the local tourism industry. Its function also includes assisting the formulation and implementation of local tourism policies and issuing tourism related licences. In keeping with Macau’s development strategy, MGTO will continue to devote itself to promote Macau as a tourism, gaming, entertainment, meetings, exhibitions and events destination through its network of 17 representatives around the world.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau or TCEB is an official organization established by the Royal Decree following the decree’s publication in the Royal Gazette on 28th September 2002. TCEB has been operating since the year 2004.

TCEB has objectives in promoting and coordinating corporate meetings, incentive events, conventions and exhibitions which are usually referred to collectively as the acronym ‘MICE’ standing or Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions in Thailand. The Bureau’s establishment reflects Thailand’s growing stature as a destination of choice for international meetings, conventions and exhibitions.

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