In a push to attract high-end visitors from the Middle East, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has set up a booth at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, UAE. The MGTO will be promoting the SAR’s tourism offerings across four days, until 1 May, according to a statement from the office.
The recently published Macao for Muslim Travelers – Halal Travel Guide is being distributed at the event, which MGTO describes as the largest international travel trade show held annually in the Middle East.
Participation in ATM follows a series of recent efforts to build ties with the Middle East travel industry. In February, MGTO led a trade travel delegation to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, to promote leisure and MICE tourism. This month, MGTO invited 12 key travel industry players from four Middle Eastern countries to the 13th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (MITE).
[See more: Macao’s tourism officials vow to do more to woo foreign tourists]
Further engagements with the region have been planned throughout the year, including a familiarisation trip to Macao for tourism professionals from the region in June, followed by one for media in September.
MGTO said it was also promoting Macao in the Arabic language on social media and other digital platforms. It added that regular training programmes were being carried out to improve local travel industry staffers’ understanding of Muslim customer requirements.
However, the relative lack of halal restaurants in Macao may make it a tough sell to devout Muslims. The city’s conspicuous casinos and reliance on gambling are another deterrent: gambling is considered haram, or forbidden, in Islam.
