The Regional Secretariat for Energy, Environment and Tourism, through the Regional Directorate for Tourism, participates in the 5th Macao International Tourism Expo - MITE, which runs on July 7 - 9.
 
The holding of this seminar and the exchange of contacts is of particular importance due to the fact that the flight connections between the Chinese territory and Lisbon will be established soon. Therefore, this is a good opportunity to assess the expectations of the Chinese market regarding Portugal as a tourist destination.
 
The participation of the Azores in this event falls within the initiate of Macao Tourism and APAVT - Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies to promote mutual understanding between both tourist destinations.
 
Under this event, there will be a presentation of the tourist destination by Tourism of Portugal, which will be reinforced with bilateral meetings between the representatives of various Portuguese tourist regions and representatives of the Chinese market during the exchange.
 
In this year's edition, the Macao International Tourism Expo highlights the presentation of a plan to promote domestic tourism along the Maritime Silk Road, tourism development plan for Guangdong Bay, Hong Kong and Macao as well as Macao's local tourism resources, especially those of cultural and creative nature. The event will also hold the second edition of the Seminar and Exchange of China-Portugal Tourism Contacts, which aims to highlight Macau's role as a tourism business platform between China, Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries.
 
MITE is one of the major annual events of the Macao's tourism industry, presenting itself as a moment of interaction, cooperation and knowledge sharing between local tourism industry and its international context. Its organisation will comprise the entire spectrum of the tourism chain, namely food, accommodation, transport, entertainment, travel and shopping.
 
In this fifth edition, the event features the participation of about 180 companies and entities from 40 countries and regions, representing travel agencies, hotels, tourist destinations and transportation as well as other entities related to the sector.