ASIA REGION 33 Macau
ASIA REGION 33 Macau Announces “Vibrant Moment” Helena de Senna Fernandes Director of Macau Government Tourist Office The Director of Macau Government Tourist Office, Helena de Senna Fernandes, reveals Macau’s expansion plans… beginning with what Macau will be highlighting at ITB Berlin 2013… Besides focussing on the strength of our product mix, leveraging the number of special events that will take place in Macau, we also announced at the beginning of this year that “Vibrant Moment” will be added to the existing line up of promotional themes. This year, two major events will be emphasized at ITB Berlin; the celebrations of the 25th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest in September and the 60th Macau Grand Prix. Macau welcomed over 28 million visitors in 2012 and we have seen overnight guests in hotels increase with double-digit growth. Gaming resorts have further expanded their onsite attractions like shopping, entertainment and nightlife as well as culinary delights, while visitors from international markets in particular also appreciate Macau’s cultural diversity. How do you differentiate your offering? The heritage of two cultures makes Macau truly unique. This is reflected through the architecture, the sightseeing spots, the people, and probably the earliest example of fusion cuisine influenced by eastern and western cultures. And it is so easy to explore Macau as many of the cultural attractions can be reached on foot. The modern side of the city also offers various extreme sports like the Skywalk or the Bungy jump on the Macau Tower. What are the key issues to improving tourism in your country, and what is being done to address these? Macau has experienced a continuous growth in visitor numbers over the previous years and, of course, our infrastructure needs to grow in line with that. Several projects are underway, for example, a light rapid transit system which will ease traffic in the streets. The first stretch of 1.9 Kilometers is presently being built on Taipa, and once completed, 21 stops will connect Taipa and Cotai with the outskirts of the peninsula all the way up to the Border Gate to Mainland China. Hall 26 C Stand 312 Gardening – Gangnam Style! South Korea promotes the international garden expo and (what else?) Gangnam Style – at ITB Berlin 2013 The global hit Gangnam Style again has the public talking about Korea. But what will the country be promoting at ITB Berlin 2013? We put the question to Charm Lee, President of the Korea Tourism Organization The key products Korea is promoting at ITB are our “130+” project and the International Garden Exposition 2013 in Suncheonman Bay. The International Garden Expo will be hosted in Korea for the first time. We are very proud to promote Suncheon Bay, one of the world’s five inshore wetlands. Moreover we offer special traditional programmes like performances, tea ceremonies and calligraphy art to show our clients our traditional culture. We will also offer modern culture and entertainment programs like K-Pop and 3-D movies. Gangnam Style has been a big hit worldwide… has this had an effect on hotel & restaurant business and shopping in Gangnam? Gangnam is the area south of the river in Seoul. It features modern lifestyle with high buildings, modern hotels and restaurants and shopping areas. Since the big hit “Gangnam Style” many tourists want to visit places which are shown in the music video. There is a new tourist office located in Gangnam and many restaurants and shopping centers do marketing campaigns with Psy or “Gangnam Style”. The annual Formula One grand prix has attracted a lot of interest to Korea, but it seems a lot of hotel and other infrastructure is still needed in Yeongam. How is this progressing? In the beginning, it was challenging for us to offer accommodation for so many people. Many hotels have been opened recently. We still do not have that many hotels in the city of Yeongam, but there will be many new hotels and infrastructure for the next season in the area around. How are your source markets evolving? The source markets are continuously growing. In 2012 more than 11 Million people visited Korea. We still have most tourists from China and Japan as well as South East Asia but the number of tourists from Europe and America are rising every year. Hall 26 A Stand 135 Charm Lee President of the Korea Tourism Organization ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2013
