Macau Celebrates World Tourism Day with Splendid Events
Photos are provided by Macanese photographer Mr. António Leong
Exhibits are built by Mr. Andy Hung, the LEGO® Certified Professional, and his team
In keeping with global celebrations for World Tourism Day, Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is organizing a series of events on 27th September.
Major tourist-related activities include Greeting Lucky Tourists, whereby random visitors are given souvenirs upon entry to Macau, and MACAU X LEGO® Exhibition held in the Ritz Building in Senado Square and Macau Science Centre, in which Macau World Heritage sites, major event-related icons like the Macau Grand Prix Guia Circuit, and map of the Macau Peninsula are displayed in miniature scale with brightly coloured LEGO® 'building bricks'. Catch this exhibition from 25th September to 28th December. In another salute to World Tourism Day.
And on this special day regular visitors and locals always make sure they're in easy walking distance of St. Paul's Ruins by 3:00pm to witness the start of the traditional World Tourism Day Tray Race, which provides the spectacle of the city's hotel and restaurant waiters and waitresses balancing a bottle of beer on a salver while running for the finish line in Senado Square amid plenty of spills and thrills! In the evening, a World Tourism Day dinner will also be held to celebrate the occasion along with travel trade stakeholders.
Another highlight this year will be the Macau Small Dragon Boat Mid-Autumn Festival Cup - held on the Nam Van Nautical Centre lake off the Praia Grande - featuring the World Tourism Day Cup, a fun race pitting seven amateur travel trade teams from Taiwan, China; Singapore; Malaysia; Korea; Indonesia, Hong Kong and MGTO against each other in a flurry of paddling and good-humoured competition. Co-organised by MGTO and the Macau Sport Development Board, the race nevertheless promises nail-biting excitement as the boats go head to head for regional bragging rights.
During the 3rd session of its General Assembly in Spain in 1979, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) designated 27th September as annual World Tourism Day to promote the importance of tourism to the international community in terms of social, political and economic values.