The Macao SAR Government organised a roadshow “Macao Week in Hangzhou”, at Hubin Pedestrian Street in late March, with the aims of attracting Mainland visitors to travel to Macao and spending more time here, expanding visitor source markets, and spurring economic revival.
Under the coordination of the organisers from Hangzhou and Macao, various governmental entities from both sides made great efforts to prepare the event. They were supported by Macao enterprises and the city’s commerce associations. The event was a showcase of Macao’s tourism, commerce and trade, culture, sports, entertainment – among other fields – to locals and visitors in Hangzhou. The event helped promote Macao as a healthy, safe and quality destination, and Macao’s “tourism +” cross-sector integration initiatives were also endorsed, including “tourism + MICE”, “tourism + culture and creativity”, “tourism + e-commerce”, and “tourism + sports”.
The roadshow featured an array of booths. There was an overview about Macao, events and cultural tourism; Macao’s World Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the city’s cultural and creative industries; sport events; MinM, supporting products made in Macao and local brands; products from Portuguese-speaking countries; and a showcase of Macao’s tourism industry, presented by tourism enterprises and an airline. A LED screen modelled after the Ruins of St. Paul’s helped radiate the city’s charm.
Audiences were dazzled by a glow-in-the-dark dragon dance, lion dances, magic shows, Portuguese folk dances, street and other styles of dancing, shows by the band Tuna Macanese, and many more performances. Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK was there to greet residents and visitors in Hangzhou.
Online and offline promotion
Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) coordinated “Macao Week in Hangzhou” using online and offline channels in the Mainland. By using a giant outdoor LED screen at Hubin Pedestrian Street, Macao was highlighted as a healthy destination. Advertisements about the “Macao Week in Hangzhou” were posted in the city’s subway stations. The event was also promoted on social media platforms, such as WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Douyin, and on television and in newspapers.
Several travel key opinion leaders (KOLs) promoted the event on their online platforms, and the media in Hangzhou, Macao and more broadly across the Mainland covered “Macao Week in Hangzhou”. The Office invited 11 KOLs and anchors specialising in travel and food to conduct 12 live streams to be broadcast on Douyin or Yizhibo. Macao’s six integrated tourism resorts and Air Macau also invited KOLs and anchors to host seven live streams during the event.
Promotion for travel and MICE
MGTO and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) organised a Macao tourism and MICE presentation seminar in Hangzhou on 25 March, before the roadshow opened. A travel trade and MICE delegation was invited to take part.
At this event, industry partners in Hangzhou were briefed on the latest developments in Macao’s tourism and MICE industries. The seminar not only enhanced trade exchange and cooperation between the two cities and promoted “tourism + MICE” integration, but also raised Macao’s profile as a healthy, safe and quality destination.
The seminar involved tourism authorities, trade representatives and the media in Hangzhou, and MGTO introduced the latest development in tourism and endeavours to revive the city’s tourism market, as well as promoting Macao’s diverse tourism resources and products.
IPIM took the opportunity to promote Macao’s strengths as a MICE destination and encouraged MICE organisers to hold related activities in Macao. The seminar also featured business matching and networking sessions on site, facilitating exchange and cooperation between tourism and MICE industry operators from Macao and Hangzhou.
A dazzling Creative City of Gastronomy
Macao’s Intangible Cultural Heritage and Macanese gastronomy were at the forefront at “Macao Week in Hangzhou”. MGTO, Grand Hyatt Hangzhou and Macanese Gastronomic Brotherhood presented the Taste of Macao Food Promotion from 26 March to 11 April. It was a chance for Hangzhou residents to savour the delights of Macanese cuisine and the charm of Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
During the event, two renowned Macanese chefs Antonieta Manhão and Rita Cabral elaborated on the characteristics of Macanese gastronomy for a team of local chefs, before they all prepared a Macanese buffet dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hangzhou’s Grand Café. The Macanese chefs not only passed on this culinary legacy but also helped inspire innovation in fusing traditional culinary arts.
Macao’s designation in 2017 as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy endorses global recognition of the city’s more than four centuries of culinary legacy. It has also created interest in the city’s gastronomic culture, especially Macanese cuisine, among the young.
During “Macao Week in Hangzhou” participants followed the COVID-19 prevention guidelines issued by Hangzhou’s public health authorities. Arrangements were made to support pandemic prevention, while all participants had to adhere to the arrangements to prevent the further spread of the pandemic. Visitors were also reminded of the need to complete all the necessary formalities for entry, and other pandemic-prevention requirements, before travelling to Macao, and to adhere to the guidelines issued by the Macao SAR Government during their stay.
“Macao Week in Hangzhou” was organised by the Secretariat for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR Government, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government, the Hangzhou Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, and the Shangcheng District People’s Government of Hangzhou Municipality. MGTO, IPIM, the Administrative Committee of Hubin Pedestrian Street District of Hangzhou Municipality, and the Hangzhou Hubin Pedestrian Street Commercial Development Co., Ltd., acted as event coordinators. Other supporting entities included the Macao SAR Government Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Macao SAR Government Sports Bureau, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, the Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission, the Industrial Association of Macau, the Macau Importers & Exporters Association, the Federal General Commercial Association of Macau Small and Medium Enterprises, the Macanese Gastronomic Brotherhood, and Grand Hyatt Hangzhou.
The “Macao Week in Hangzhou” roadshow took place from 26 to 29 March at Hubin Pedestrian Street 
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes delivers a speech at the opening ceremony on behalf of Macao SAR Government Secretary for Economy and Finance 
Deputy Mayor of Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government, Ke Jixin, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony 
Portuguese folk dance embodies the Sino-Portuguese cultural harmony of Macao 
Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK welcomes guests at the event 
Inside the seminar on Macao tourism and MICE industries 
A giant outdoor LED screen showcases Macao as a healthy and safe destination 
Macao chef Antonieta Manhão elaborates on the characteristics of Macanese gastronomy for local chefs in Hangzhou