Macao Travel News

Macao SAR Govt to cultivate rich and vibrant tourism industry

The new Macao SAR Government, led by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, will foster efforts to cultivate a rich and vibrant tourism industry imbued with unique attractions, to promote economic development. 

In his inauguration speech delivered on 20 December 2019, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said the Fifth-term Government of the Macao SAR would vault ahead in its efforts to turn Macao into a world centre of tourism and leisure, a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, and a multicultural exchange and cooperation base with an emphasis on Chinese culture. 

President Xi Jinping administered the oath of office to the new Chief Executive on 20 December, in a ceremony at the East Asian Games Dome attended by over 1,100 guests. 

Other members of the Fifth-term Government of the Macao SAR that took office at the ceremony included Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U, who oversees matters related to tourism, along with Secretary for Administration and Justice Cheong Weng Chon, Secretary for the Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak, and Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo Arrais do Rosário.

Talking to reporters after taking office, Secretary Ao Ieong said her main task in the short run would be to visit all the Government bodies under her leadership, to get to know each in close detail. She is in charge of several Government agencies and departments, among them the Health Bureau, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Social Welfare Bureau, the Sports Bureau, the Higher Education Bureau and the Social Security Fund.

Tourism-related bodies under the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture include the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Tourism Crisis Management Office, the Tourism Development Committee, the Macao Tourism Promotion and Information Centre in Portugal and the Macau Grand Prix Organizing Committee.

Secretary Ao Ieong remarked that she would meet representatives of all sectors of society covered by her portfolio, to get their feedback about the development of Macao, so their opinions could be reflected in the social and cultural policies in the Macao SAR Government Policy Address for 2020, to be delivered in April.

Ao Ieong U is a seasoned civil servant, with 25 years of service in public administration. Before she became Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, she had been the Director of the Identification Services Bureau since 2014. She was Vice-President of the Macao Female Civil Servant Association from 2016 to 2019.

Secretary Ao Ieong has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and application earned at the South China University of Technology, a master’s degree in software engineering awarded by the University of Macau and a master’s degree in comparative jurisprudence awarded by Huaqiao University in the Mainland Chinese province Fujian.

Chief Executive Ho said Ao Ieong’s appointment as a Government Secretary followed her success at the Identification Services Bureau, where she showed a strong sense of service rendered for the common good. He remarked that her appointment sent a positive message to all civil servants, illustrating how hard work and diligence would be duly recognised.