Tourism authorities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) are showing a keener interest to attract more tourists from the region, building on the greater ease of travel and accessibility that the cross-border integrated economic and business zone has brought.
Singapore has been identified as a prime market for growth, said Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), which is leading the charge for GBA’s latest tourism push.
To this effect, MGTO is looking into opening an office in Singapore “sometime next year”, announced Fernandes.
“Macau has not been active in (marketing to) Singapore for a while, so this is a good time to re-tender (our agreements) our relationships and look for new representation here. It’s important to make a comeback in the Singapore market,” she elaborated.
She reasoned that Singapore has a strong link to China, and many Singaporeans have roots in the Pearl River Delta region.
Macau’s destination promotions are tied with the development of the GBA, where the Guangdong region has been ramping up its tourism products and facilities.
These include high-speed rail links; regional airports, ferry services and land connections to Hong Kong and Macau; and travel itineraries that include food, attractions and festivals.
As part of its promotion efforts, MGTO invited Singaporean travel blogger Keith Yuen to tour 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area in June. Yuen then shared his experiences at the GBA travel mart last week with some 80 members of the travel trade from Singapore, Macau and Zhuhai.
Tourism officials and representatives from Macau, Zhuhai and Zhongshan also held a dialogue session with Mohamed Ismail Hussain, general manager of National Association of Travel Agents Singapore on July 4.
MGTO hopes to collaborate with more GBA tourism authorities to showcase the destination and encourage multi-destination and themed itineraries.
The GBA comprises Hong Kong, Macau, as well as the Chinese municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province.
