Training Programme for Portuguese-speaking Countries’ Tourism Officials 2019

Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), in co-operation with the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Co-operation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao), has unveiled the 2019 training programme tailored to civil servants serving various tourism offices. Held in March, May and July of this year, three training sessions, each spanning two weeks, will be conducted in Macao for 33 government personnel from the tourism authorities of six Portuguese-speaking countries.

The internship commenced on 18^th March for the first group of nine participants from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe, while the second and third groups will arrive in Macao in late May and early July, respectively. The training programme includes internship in several MGTO departments, two days of themed workshops at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) about ‘Special Interest Tourism and Tourism Planning & Development’; ‘Human Resources Management Development and Event Management’, as well as ‘Destination Marketing & Branding and Environmental Management Certification’ during the three respective training sessions. Trainees will also join fieldtrips to tourism infrastructure, historic and cultural heritage as well as other attractions in Macao.

The internship seeks to acquaint trainees with daily MGTO operations as well as the overall development of Macao’s tourism industry. Through this training programme MGTO hopes to enhance mutual learning and exchange between Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries in the field of tourism, while assisting the involved countries to train tourism professionals, in line with Macao’s goal of becoming a world centre of tourism and leisure and a commercial and trade co-operation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.