Macao is set to become the “preferred destination in 2025” of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Association (ECTAA), according to an ECTAA press release.
Announced at the Macao International Travel Expo on Friday, the designation will see the SAR host the association’s 130th semi-annual meeting next year – described as a chance “to further elevate [Macao’s] profile and captivate the European travel industry,” the statement read.
ECTAA vice president Heli Mäki-Fränti said preferred destination-status would also give Macao’s tourism authority access to about 80,000 European travel professionals: an opportunity to get them promoting the city as “an exceptional choice for their clientele.”
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“We are sure that the Preferred Destination Programme will result in better and stronger relations between Macao and our members,” she added.
At the expo, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Maria Helena Senna Fernandes hailed the collaboration as a way to boost visitor flows from Europe and said she looked forward to making “this exceptional collaboration a success.”
Last December, the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) declared Macao its “preferred international destination” for 2024. APAVT is an ECTAA member and was instrumental in this latest designation.